THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 27 



Gates in his " Manual of Game Birds " writes : — 



" The places frequented by these birds are generally well known to the 

 natives, for the birds remain there constantly. In some parts of Upper 

 Burmah this Peafowl is very abundant, and on some of the higher 

 reaches of the Irrawady, above the third defile, large flocks may be seen 

 in the mornings and evenings on the sand banks and shingly margins of 

 the river. 1 have counted as many as fourteen in one flock. Wherever 

 this bird is found it is extremely shy, and it is not often secured with 

 the shot gun." 



Over the greater part of the area in which it is fonnd it is not 

 a common bird, though doubtless its retiring habits and the nature 

 of the cover it frequents may make it appear even more rare than 

 it really is. Even in such places, however, one would imagine its 

 presence could not be concealed, for its loud cr}^ must proclaim it 

 wherever it may be. 



Count Guildenstolpe writing of this bird in Southern Siam, de- 

 clares it to be the shyest bird he met with and by no means common. 

 In Northern Siam it was still more rare, though he sometimes 

 heard them calling, especially in the dry forests near Den Chai and 

 Pak Pan. 



Gairdner also speaks of these birds as abundant in Siam, biit all 

 my correspondents in Malay and Burmah seem to consider it a rare 

 bird. 



It is difficult to say what sort of country it has a preference for. 

 In one place it will be found almost exclusively in elephant grass, 

 in another in open dry forest, and in yet another in the densest 

 thorn and bush undergrowth of evergreen forests. One thing 

 however must be common to all these, and that is the near supply 

 of good and plentiful water. Perhaps ' on the whole, the haunts to 

 which it is most partial are the banks of the smaller, clear, running 

 rivers, which are well wooded, and which have an abundance of 

 low undergrowth not too dense close to the ground to curtail the 

 freedom of their movements. 



Where the rice fields, mustard, and other cultivation encroaches 

 on the jungle, the birds will come into the open in the early 

 mornings and late evenings, but even then it is practically impos- 

 sible to obtain a shot. They are not only too keen sighted to 

 allow of an approach in the open, but also too sharp of hearing to 

 permit anyone to creep through the jungle to within shot. The 

 crackle of loose branches, and the brushing aside of the coarse grass 

 is quite enough to send them all scurrying into safet}^. Like the 

 Indian bird, the Burmese Peafowl prefers to trust to his legs rather 

 than to his wings for escape, and he can run at an amazing pace, 

 even when in possession of a full train. 



As regards the time during which the train is worn, the evidence 

 is conflicting, but it appears that it is generally acquired daring 

 the autumn mou.lt, and is worn until the following spring, when it is 



