76 THE FOREST AND THE FIELD. 



quite a new bird to me — besides black and gray- 

 partridge, chickore and hares. 



The kaleej, or silver pheasant, is about the same 

 size as our English breed, being twenty-six inches 

 long and thirty-two across the wings, and has a 

 white crest. Kound the eye, the iris of which is 

 a brownish hazel, is a naked red skin, which, al- 

 though it varies in colour, is peculiar to all the 

 castes of Himalayan pheasants. The plumage 

 of the male is almost black, having a bluish 

 shade on the back of the head, neck, and breast, 

 and on the body at intervals are rows of silver- 

 white feathers, broad at the base and tapering to a 

 point. The female is smaller than the male, and 

 is of a brown game colour. Their general habits 

 much resemble those of the common jungle fowl. 

 The gray partridge we killed were rather larger 

 than the ordinary birds of the plains, the male 

 being over thirteen inches long, and weighed 

 about eleven ounces ; the hen, twelve inches long, 

 and two ounces less in weight. They are redder 

 than the English bird, and more rapid in their 

 flight, but are prone to run, being very nimble 

 on foot. The female generally lays from twelve 



