PHASIANIDAE 221 



velocity. The trisyllabic note of the male is rendered " wet-my- 

 lips " by country-folk ; the food consists of seeds, slugs, and insects, 

 sought among the grassy flats in general frequented. From seven 

 to fifteen yellowish or white eggs, with dark brown blotches or 

 marblings, are deposited in a hollow lined with bits of herbage, in 

 standing corn or grass, the hen sitting very closely and feigning 

 lameness to draw attention from the young. The male appears 

 to be usually monogamous, while the broods or " bevies " do not 

 form coveys. Two of these broods are said to be occasionally reared 

 in a season, but how far such statements are due to the destruc- 

 tion of the first complement of eggs must remain doubtful, as 

 in the case of so many other birds that breed on the ground. 1 



Melanoperdix nigra, of the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and 

 Sumatra, is glossy black with browner primaries, the female 

 being chestnut, with black markings and a whitish chin. It 

 inhabits the lowlands and lays five eggs. Rollulus roulroul is a 

 most remarkable form with a frontal tuft of long black bristles. 

 In the male the fore-part of the head is black, separated by a 

 white band from the full hairy crest of maroon, which covers the 

 occiput ; the upper parts are dark green glossed with blue, the 

 wing-coverts being maroon, and the quills brown and buff. The 

 tail and under parts are black, a blue tint shewing on the 

 breast ; the base of the black bill, the feet, and the naked orbits 

 are scarlet. The female has a blackish head with moderate 

 crest, a grass-green body with chestnut wing-coverts edged with 

 maroon, and a black bill. These birds inhabit the dense forests 

 of the Malay Peninsula, Tenasserim, Siarn, Borneo, Sumatra, and 

 Java, up to an altitude of a few thousand feet ; they hunt in 

 small parties for seeds, berries, and insects, are very shy, quick of 

 movement and hard to flush, and utter a mellow whistle. Calo- 

 perdix oculea of similar range to Rollulus unless we separate C. 

 borneensis with more chestnut throat has the crown, neck, and 

 under parts rufous-chestnut, the back and tail black with cres- 

 centic white anterior and reddish posterior markings, the wing- 

 coverts brown with round black spots, the quills brown and 

 buff, the face and throat buff, a white supra- aural stripe, and 

 black flanks with whitish bars. The male is only distinguished 

 by possessing a pair or two of spurs. This bird haunts dense 

 uninhabited forests, and eats insects, seeds, and berries. Haemat- 

 1 For more details, see art. Quail, Dresser, Birds of Europe, vii. 1878, pp. 143-154. 



