THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 25 



The young male soon commences to shew the sexnal differences 

 in colouration, but the metallic parts are more bronze and less green 

 than in the adult. The primaries and their coverts remain like those 

 of the female, and the secondaries and their coverts are dark brown 

 with narrow pale bars, the inner webs much mottled with buff. The 

 green part shews as a metallic sheen on the darker markings. 



The longer upper tail coverts are mostly a brilliant copper flame 

 colour broken by the narrow buff bars and by faint indications of 

 the green gloss. 



The crest, even when of practically full size, is dull coloured and 

 nearly entirely blackish brown. 



In the Burmese Peafowl the reflections on the metallic parts vary 

 very greatly in different lights, in some the green predominates, 

 whilst in others the deep blue almost alone shews, whilst in certain 

 lights the whole tail looks almost copper coloured. 



Distribution. — The whole of Burmah, Siam, Cochin China, the 

 Malay Peninsula, Java, and, very doubtfully, Sumatra. In Indian 

 limits it is only to be found in Chittagong, the Chittagong Hill 

 Tracts and the Looshai Hills, but is extremely rare in all these dis- 

 tricts. 



It is possible that at one time the Burmese Peafowl extended 

 through the Looshai Hills and Manipur into the N. Cachar Hills, 

 and other suitable hill ranges south of the Brahmapootra. 



Between 1880 and 1900 a few birds of this species were to be 

 found wild in the high grass uplands to the north of the North 

 Cachar Hills, but they were probably stock from tame birds which 

 had been imported generations previously. The local Mikir Mozedar, 

 or chief, had still two pairs of these Peafowl in 1888-9, and these 

 he told me had been imported from Imphal, the principal town of 

 Manipur. He also said that at that time the Burmese Peafowl was 

 to be found in Manipur and Cachar wherever the country was suit- 

 able. 



In the Looshai Hills and Chittagong Hill Tracts they are very 

 rare and very local and Mr. Sneyd Hu.tchinson who, for many years, 

 resided in the latter district, never saw a specimen, though he in- 

 forms me that a few were still to be found in one or two places in 

 the South-East. He mentions in special the two localities, Gurunia 

 and Eamoo, which are amongst those enumerated by Fasson in 

 " Stray Feathers." 



Nidification. — There is very little on record about the breeding of 

 this magnificent bird. I had some eggs brought in to me on the 

 21st May 1888, when camping in the Mikir Hills on the Kopili 

 stream, and, going out at once, saw the nest from which they had 

 been taken, and shot the male bird which was in the scrub jungle 

 alongside the nest. This, the nest, consisted of a large mass of reed 

 blades, grass and leaves chucked carelessly into a hollow between 

 4 



