THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 206 



Chick in dovm. — Below rufescent brown, paler on chin and albes- 

 cent on vent. Above ; forehead plain, rich, rufous brown, head the 

 same, vermiculated with blackish brown ; upper back still darker 

 and lower back and rump velvety blackish brown with two longitu- 

 dinal broad lines of pale buff extending from the scapulars to the 

 tail ; wing coverts like the upper back, the quills and greater coverts 

 vermiculated rufous and dark brown with well-defined rufous tips 

 and sub-terminal dark bands. 



Distribution. — The Malay Peninsular, Sumatra, Siam and the 

 extreme south of Tenasserim. According to Oates and Blanford it 

 is found round about " Bankasoon, Malewcon, and the Upper 

 Pakchan " in the latter district. 



Nidification. — There is practically nothing on record about the 

 breeding of this remarkable bird, beyond Davison's oft-quoted note 

 in " Game Birds." He writes: 



" I was unable to find the nest, but from what I could learn, 

 "the female builds a rude nest on the ground in some dense 

 " cane brake, laying seven or eight eggs, white or creamy, 

 " minutely speckled with brown like a turkey's, and hatching 

 " and rearing her brood without any assistance or interference 

 " from the male. They are said to have no regular breeding 

 " season, the females laying at all times except during the 

 " depth of the rains. I secured two nestling about a week old 

 " on the 28th February. " 

 There is still no evidence on record as to whether the male is 

 polygamous or monogamous, but probably he is neither in the proper 

 meaning of these terms and the sexes only meet intermittently when 

 the female is urged by the procreative instinct to visit the male. 

 At the same time the latter has a most wonderful display which, ac- 

 cording to most naturalists, even of the present day, is employed to 

 attract and incite the female, and it may be that though the sexes 

 keep very much apart during the greater part of the day, the males 

 yet have their own particular harem as do many others of the 

 Phasianidce. 



The display of the male is very similar to that of the much 

 better known Peacock-Pheasant and is given at least as freely in 

 captivity as in freedom. The normal fvill display is a frontal one 

 in which the bird sinks its breast slowly to the ground, raises and 

 spreads its tail to the greatest extent possible and at the same time 

 forces the carpal joints of the wings on to the ground whilst it raises 

 the ends of the feathers in a circular fan-shaped manner so that the 

 tail is practically concealed with the exception of the long central 

 rectrices which wave over the centre. Sometimes the bird hides 

 its head and neck amongst the scapulars and feathers of the back, 

 when the general appearance presented is much that of a Japanese 

 feather screen. 



