Birds uf tlie Island of Formosa. 055 



Mr. Goodfellow lias ftiniislied me \\'\i\\ the followinj^ 

 notes : — 



"■ I cannot agree ^itli Dr. iMoltreclit that the females of 

 this Pheasant are found at a lower altitude than the males. 

 I met with both sexes together, at the same season of the 

 year, at any altitude above GOOO ft. along the Arizan region ; 

 below that elevation I do not believe they aje to be found. 

 I questioned the savages abont this rejieatedly, and they all 

 agreed with me that it was so. The Arizan forests slope 

 up from the west, culminating in a sharp razor-backed ridge 

 running north and south for many miles. From about the 

 centre of this, the great bulk of Arizan itself bulges out to 

 the Avest, ending in huge precipices. Everywhere up to the 

 top the ridge is covered Avith dense forest, Avith a still 

 denser undergrowth of scrub-bamboo averaging about 7 ft. 

 liigh. Above 6000 ft., giant cypress-trees predominate,, with 

 many junipers and pines just along the ridge. To the 

 t^outh, Avhere I pitched my first camp, great oaks were 

 quite as numerous as cypresses. On the east side of the 

 ridge facing Mt. Morrison is a very deep valley with 

 remarkably steep sides. In some places it is covered Avith 

 high grass, and in. others Avith trees. It is on the ledges 

 among the latter that the Mikado Pheasant j)ermaneutly 

 lives and probably breeds. Almost everywhere it is much 

 too steep for any oue to descend very far ; Avere it not so, 

 I should probably have been able to obtain more living- 

 birds than I did. Failing this, the only way was to set the 

 snares for eatciiing them along the top, and a little way 

 down the Avest side of the ridge. In the early mornings 

 aiul evenings the birds came over the ridge to feed, but 

 descended only a very short distance. If any were flushed 

 they always flew straight up to the ridge and over to the 

 other side, but on two occasions a cock bird alighted in a 

 pine-tree on the top and remained there until the hens had 

 time to get away below. It was very rarely that we saAv the 

 birds, for they were very scattered and nowhere numerous. 

 On two occasions I saAV a pair, once two hens, and again at 

 another time a cock Avith two hens. That was the sum total 



