BIRDS OF TENASSERIM. 439 



Confined to the evergreen forests in the neighbourhood of the 

 Pakchan. 



[These birds frequent the thick evergreen forests in small 

 parties of five or six ; usually there is only one male in the 

 party, the rest being females, but on one or two occasions I 

 have seen two males together ; sometimes the males are found 

 quite alone. I have never heard the males crow, nor do I think 

 that they ever do so ; when alarmed both males and females have 

 a peculiar sharp note, exceedingly like that of the large black- 

 backed squirrel (Sciurus bicolor). The males also continually 

 make a whirring sound with their wings which can be very well 

 imitated by twirling rapidly between the hands a small stick 

 in a cleft of which a piece of stiff cloth has been transversely 

 placed. I have often discovered the whereabouts of a flock by 

 hearing this noise. They never come into the open, but confine 

 themselves to the forests, feeding on berries, tender leaves, and 

 insects and grubs of all kinds ; and they are very fond of 

 scratching about after the manner of domestic poultry, and 

 dusting themselves. When disturbed they run rapidly awav, 

 not in different directions, but all keeping much together ; they 

 rise at once before a dog, getting up with a great flutter, but 

 when once well on the wing, fly with a strong and rapid flight ; 

 they seldom alight again under a couple of hundred yards, and 

 usually on the ground, when they immediately start running. 



I noticed on one occasion a very curious thing. I had stalk- 

 ed an Argus, and while waiting to obtain a good shot, I heard 

 the peculiar note, a sort of a chukun, chukun" followed by the 

 whirring noise made by the male Fireback, and immediately 

 after saw a fine male Fireback run in to the open space, and 

 begin to chase the Argus round and its clearing. The Argus 

 seemed loth to quit its own domain, and yet not willing to fight, 

 but at last being hard-pressed it ran into the jungle. The 

 Fireback did not attempt to follow, but took up a position in 

 the middle of the clearing and recommenced the whirrino- 

 noise with his wings, evidently as a challenge, whereupon the 

 Argus slowly returned, but the moment it got within the cleared 

 space, the Fireback charged it, and drove it back into the 

 jungle, and then, as before, took ud his position in the middle 

 of the space and repeated the challenge. The Argus imme- 

 diately returned, but only to be again driven back, and this con- 

 tinued at least a dozen times, and how much longer it would 

 have continued I cannot say, but a movement on my part at- 

 tracting the birds' attention, they caught sight of me, and 

 instantly, before I could fire, disappeared into the jungle. The 

 Argus never made the slightest attempt to attack the Fireback, 

 but retreated at once on the slightest movement of the latter 



