THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 16 



but has a tough fight for existence under less favourable circum- 

 stances. In all the lower hills in the N. of the Khasia Hills it is 

 said once to have been common, but with the exception of the 

 Kopili Valley has now almost disappeared. 



Nidification. — The breeding season of the Peafowl varies greatly 

 in the different parts of the area it inhabits. In Ceylon Legge 

 states that the principal breeding seasoii is from January to April ; 

 all along the foothills of the Himalaj^as from Assam to Nepal it 

 appears to lay principally in the months of March and April, but 

 elsewhere, according to numerous observers, it does not commence 

 breeding operations until the rains break, that is to say, about the 

 middle of June, continuing up to the end of August or September. 

 Even in the Central portions of India, however, it appears to be very 

 erratic, for whilst Wilson says that in the Central Provinces he found 

 it breeding in April and May and McInro_y also found it breeding 

 during the former month in Hansoor, Davidson, on the other 

 hand, found it breeding in West Khandesh as late as October. 

 Presumably its breeding is governed to a great extent by the rainfall, 

 and in places where there are showers in the early part of the year 

 and food is plentiful, the birds breed from January to April, whereas, 

 when there is a very long period of draught, and in consequence food 

 is very scarce, the birds do not breed until the rains commence and 

 food, both insect and vegetable, is once more abundant. It is difficult 

 to say what is the Peafowl's favourite kind of country for breeding 

 purposes, for over so much of its habitat it is regarded as more oi- 

 less sacred, and is really in an almost semi-domestic state, and will 

 lay its eggs in any convenient place. Thus, in Rajputana and in 

 other States where they are preserved, they will deposit their eggs in 

 any patch of jungle, grove, or cluster of bushes, quite close to villages, 

 and in the centre of cultivation ; or, if other cover is not available, 

 they will make use of thick high crops, such as sugarcane, dhal, etc. 



In countries in which it is not held in reverence it is a shy bird, 

 only breeding well away from the haunts of man, and the two con- 

 ditions which would appear to be then essential are dense cover, 

 thorny if possible, and the propinquity of water. 



In N. Cachar, and similar foothills along the mountain ranges 

 South of the Brahmapootra River, its favourite breeding haunts are 

 in forests growing alongside hill streams in which the undergrowth 

 consists of Ber bushes and thorny creepers. The Ber bushes grow 

 some 10 or 12 feet apart, having little foliage for the first 4 or 5 

 feet, above which they spread out into table-shaped tops which meet 

 one another and form a dense flat mass. This sort of cover allows 

 Peafowl and other small living creatures to move about in its shade 

 with the greatest ease, whilst to man and the larger animals, move- 

 ment at any speed is impossible. In country such as this I generally 

 foimd the nests placed in broken ground, small ravines or sloping 



