4i8 



GAME-BIRDS. 



pine and juniper. They, seldom or never crow, but emit a weak, cackling noise. 

 When put up, they take a shoi-t flight, and then run to shelter. During September 

 flocks of ten to fifteen may be seen, males and females in almost equal proportions ; 

 and in December packs of seventy to one hundred birds collect. 



The tragopans or horned pheasants, so often misnamed Argus 

 pheasants, include five large and magnificent species, unsurpassed for 

 beauty and the harmony of their tints by any other members of the group. The 



Tragopans. 





^^^^\^^J^^"^ 



CRIMSON TRAGOPAN (1 nat. size). 



males are provided with a pair of erectile, fleshy, blue horns inserted on each side 

 of the crown above the eyes, and during the breeding-season the throat is covered 

 with a brightly-coloured lappet, hanging down several inches when the birds are 

 excited by passion, but barely visible during the winter. Their habitat includes 

 the higher wooded ranges of Northern India and China. By far the most 

 brilliantly coloured species is the crimson tragopan {Tragopan satyra) ranging in 

 the Himalaya from Kumaon to Bhutan. The male has the top and sides of the 

 head black, the neck, mantle, and under-parts orange-carmine, and the rest of the 

 upper-parts olive-brown, each feather being ornamented at the tip with a round 



