492 NATURAL HISTORY. 



the spokes of a rapidly revolving wheel. Then the noise is produced, but 

 the exact way is still a mystery. Some say the wings hit against the log ; 

 some, against the body ; some, that they strike each other over the back ; 

 and others, that the simple beating of the air produces the note. The 

 reader may take his choice, or, better, strive to solve the problem for 

 himself. 



Far more important than the grouse and quail is the great group of 

 pheasants and pheasant-like forms. None of them are American, but 

 many are so interesting that we must devote a little space to them. 



First come the pea-fowl, natives of India and the Malay regions, one 

 of the two species of which is familiar to all. These large birds, with 

 their bright metallic plumage, are among the most beautiful of all the 

 feathered tribe. Of their appearance, habits, and not exactly musical 

 voice, in the state of domestication, nothing needs to be said. In India 

 they live in the jungle, and every hunter confirms the statement that where 

 these birds, with their resplendent trains are seen, the tiger may be confi- 

 dently looked for. What is the association between the two, no one has 

 yet ascertained. Beautiful as is our peacock, it is excelled by its Java- 

 nese cousin, which has not been introduced into our western world. The 

 neck is covered with feathers of a ' scarlet-like green ' ; the crest is dif- 

 ferent in shape, while the train is fully as large and fully as beautiful. 

 The pea-fowl go in large flocks, but their near relations, the more soberly 

 colored but still beautiful argus pheasants, are more solitary, usually 

 going in pairs. One curious fact in the distribution of these forms is 

 peculiar. Their range is about the same, but in a region where one is 

 found the other is a minus quantity. The following account of their 

 habits is from the pages of Mr. "Wallace : — 



The argus makes " a large circus, some ten or twelve feet in diameter, 

 in the forest, which it clears of every leaf and twig and branch, till the 

 ground is perfectly swept and garnished, On the margin of this circus 

 there is invariably a projecting branch, or high-arched root, at a few feet 

 elevation above the ground, on which the female bird takes its place, while 

 in the ring the male — the male birds alone possess great decoration — 

 shows off all its magnificence for the gratification and pleasure of its 

 consort, and to exalt himself in her eyes. It is a strange fact that when 

 the male bird has been caught, — these birds are much trapped by the 

 natives [of Sumatra], their excessive shyness making it almost impossible 

 to shoot them, — the female invariably returns to the same circus with a 

 new mate, even if two or three times in succession her lord should be 

 caught. The female bird is rarely caught, owing to her flying to her 

 roost when approaching the circus, while the great-winged males walk 



