ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 11 



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SIMMER HOME OF THE NEPAL HIMALAYAN BLOOD PARTRIDGE 



In the eastern Himalayas the limit of perpetual snow is at US, 000 feet, and ii winter the storms rush down from the crests 



and sweep everything before them to tree level. Only lonely Nepal shepherds ever visit these slopes. 



Plate from Beebe's "A Monograph of the Pheasants" 



pair of birds in their mountain home, with a 

 Himalayan silver fir tree in the large, and the 

 paper laurel flower on which the bird loves to 

 feed. Then come two photogravures, from the 

 author's photographs, showing the Yunnan 

 home of the specimens actually taken by Mr. 

 Beebe. 



The text opens with four lines in small type 

 covering all the English. French, Chinese and 

 "vernacular" names by which the bird is known. 

 This paragraph is followed by five lines of 

 "Brief Description," two lines of record regard- 

 ing the "Type" specimen, and two more on 

 "Range." 



The real text opens with half a page of large- 

 type statement on "General Distribution," 

 which tells clearly and concisely all the reader 

 cares to know on that subject. And then be- 

 gins the story of this Tragopan, now for the 

 first time adequately told. It is prefaced by a 

 little quoted matter, introduced by this droll 

 statement : 



"To show the meagreness of our knowledge 

 concerning the wild life of Temminck's Trago- 



pan. I shall quote every fact that I have been 

 able to unearth in the literature of this species." 



And the quoted matter that follows fills only 

 two-thirds of one page! 



Mr. Beebe's treatment of the species is in- 

 teresting. 



First he introduces the bird as he saw it in 

 its haunts, and describes its immediate surround- 

 ings, its plumage as it lay before him, and the 

 contents of its crop. This is followed by close- 

 range observations of the living bird in "Captiv- 

 ity." in the Zoological Park, where it has been 

 kept for six years. 



The breeding habits of the bird are accorded 

 generous space ; and it is no exaggeration to say 

 that this part of the story is of extreme interest. 

 Naturally the eggs come in for their full share 

 of attention. 



After seven pages of interesting pheasant 

 story, we come to the section of "Detailed De- 

 scription." dear to the heart of the bird student 

 and curator, and to the highest degree neces- 

 sarv. And how will the author handle it? 



