232 CASSELL'S book OF BIRDS. 



it scarcely eatable. In autumn and early winter the females and young birds afibrd excellent 

 food, but from the commencement of spring they deteriorate in that respect. I'he same writer tells 

 us that in autumn, when the leaves have fallen from the trees and an extensive view through 

 the wood is allowed, he has frequently stood till twenty or thirty have got up and perched on the 

 branches, and then he has walked up to the different trees and fired at them in succession without 

 disturbing any but those which were quite close to the spot. The JMonaul is easily kept in 

 confinement, and in that condition has bred in England ; it appears quite capable of enduring 

 the severity of our winter. 



LI-IUYS' PHEASANT. 



Lhuvs' Pheasant {Lophophorus Lhuysi). This newly-discovered species, which has received 

 the name of Lophophorus Lhuysi from Geoffrey St. Hilaire, in honour of the French minister of that 

 name, differs from the Monaul chiefly in the ornamentation of its head and tail, the feathers of its 

 crest being acuminate instead of spatulated, and its tail of a greenish bronze adorned with 

 white spots. 



This bird inhabits the northern slope of the Great Himalaya range, while the Impeyan 

 Pheasant occupies the southern slope of the same mountains. The female of this species resembles 

 the Hen Monaul. 



The TRAGOPANS, or HORNED PHEASANTS {Ceriornis), have a powerful body, moderate- 

 sized wing, and short, broad tail composed of eigl^teen feathers. The bill is very short and rather 

 weak, while the strong, flat foot is furnished with a spur. Two small, fleshy, horn-like appendages are 

 situated behind the bare patch around the eye, and the naked skin on the throat is prolonged so as 

 to form a pair of pendent lappets. The rich plumage of the inale lengthens into a crest at the 

 crown of the head, and is most beautiful both in its hues and markings, whilst that of the female 

 is comparatively of sombre tint. 



THE SIKKIM HORNED THEA.SANT. 



The SiKKiM Horned Pheasant {Cc7-iornis Satyra) is of a bright carmine-red on the brow, crown 

 of the head, nape, and shoulders ; a broad band, that passes from the temples to the back of the head, 

 and a narrow line around the lappet at the throat, are also of the same glowing hue ; the upper back, 

 breast, and belly are red, enlivened with white spots edged with black ; the mantle and upper tail- 

 covers are brown, but each feather is delicately striped with black, and has a black spot at its 

 extremity ; some of the feathers on the upper wing-covers are also dotted with red, the dark brown 

 quills are bordered and streaked with dull yellow ; the tail-feathers are black, striped with dark 

 brownish yellow. 



The eye is deep brown, and the foot yellowish brown ; the fleshy appendages and lappets are 

 blue, spotted here and there with orange-yellow. The male is twenty-seven inches long, the wing 

 measures eleven inches and a half, and the tail eleven inches. The plumage of the female is 

 principally brown, darkest on the back, and enlivened by numerous black and red spots and streaks, 

 as well as by the white shafts and dots of the feathers. Her length is only twenty-four inches, and 

 that of her tail ten inches. 



This species, which was the first known to naturalists, mhabits the Nepaul and Sikkim Himalayas, 

 being more abundant in the former. " I have," says Jerdon, " seen it in spring at an elevation of about 

 9, coo feet above the level of the sea ; and in winter it descends to between 7,000 and 8,000 feet in the 

 vicinity of Darjeeling, and perhaps lower in the interior. It is frequently snared by the Bhotees and 

 other I-Iill-men, and brought alive for sale at Darjeeling. Its call, which I have heard in spring, is a 



