228 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



upon the tarsi. They are very beautiful birds, the feathers of the wings and tail being 

 covered with ocelli of brilliant metallic colors, of blue, green, or purple, sometimes with 

 red reflections. There are several species known, inhabiting Burmah, India, and 

 the Malay countries, also in Cochin China and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, and the 

 Philippines. One species also is a native of Thibet. They are very shy and timid 

 birds, frequenting dense jungles, through which they run rapidly, and hide and skulk 

 so closely as to make it almost an impossibility to discover them. Some species are 



FIG. 109. Polyplectron bicalcaratum, peacock-pheasant. 



found on the mountains at elevations of 5,000 feet above the sea, but as a rule they 

 are met with at more moderate heights. Not much is known of the nidification of 

 these splendid creatures, the nest of only one species having been procured in the 

 countries they inhabit, viz., that of P. tktbetanum, which was found in Cachar, and 

 was placed at the foot of a large bush standing amongst grass and cane jungle. It 

 was about nine inches in diameter and three inches in depth, made of twigs and leaves 

 roughly put together, with a slight lining of the bird's own feathers. The eggs were 

 a cafe au lait color. Two are generally the complement of a nest. The young are 



