xxxvi INTRODUCTION 



grubs and worms are all taken, yet the main object of search seems to be coarse tubers 

 which are broken up and swallowed. Strange to say, all this work is done with the 

 stout, curved beak, the upper mandible of which overhangs and is effectively used with 

 a pick-like motion. 



In the tropics I found Firebacks and others scratching among the shallows 

 and pebbles of jungle brooks, devouring earwigs and small crayfishes. Still more 

 remarkable in habit were the Green Junglefowl on the sea-shore in Java, feeding on 

 shrimps and marine worms from the small coral pools left by the tide. In several 

 instances I obtained recognizably new species of insects from the crops of birds, and 

 from pheasants such as the Argus, numbers of strange seeds of trees or shrubs wholly 

 unknown to botanists. So attractive are certain kinds of food, berries or small fruits, 

 that their annual ripening is sufficient to attract birds from many miles, and from low 

 plains to considerable elevations. At such times the birds eat ravenously and become 

 fat and unwieldy, and larger numbers fall a prey to jungle cats and other animals than 

 when they are in better condition. 



Early morning and evening are the usual feeding times. In the mountains and in 

 the more northern haunts, however, this habit is less rigorously observed, both because 

 the midday heat is not oppressive, and because a greater amount of calorific nourishment 

 is necessary. 



ROOSTS 



I was able to watch a number of species of pheasants returning nightly to their 

 roosts, and in many more cases I found undoubted roosting places. Intensive search 

 of these localities would almost always reveal stray feathers which afforded certain 

 identification, while the position and amount of sign yielded data as to the location of 

 the roosting branch and the length of time the place had been in use. Wherever 

 possible, pheasants of all species roost in trees, usually about midway to the summit, 

 and well out from the trunk, by preference selecting a tree devoid of branches for some 

 distance from the ground. This situation appears to be the one best suited for the 

 avoidance of nocturnal enemies. While still sheltered from passing owls by over- 

 hanging foliage, yet the distance from the trunk enables the birds to be forewarned of 

 scansorial enemies by the shaking of the branch. A hen may sleep close to her nearly 

 grown brood, but usually the birds roost separately, although as many as six or eight 

 may occupy the same tree. A prevailing wind always determines the direction which 

 the birds face. If undisturbed the birds return to the identical spot night after night, 

 while well-chosen roosts may be occupied for many months. 



Red Junglefowl sometimes offer a startling exception to the non-gregarious roosting 

 habit. As many as thirty cocks and hens have been observed roosting close together 

 on the slanting stem of one giant bamboo. To all intents and purposes these were 

 wild birds, yet I accredit this phenomenon to the infusion of blood from some village 

 fowl, breaking down the more feral, solitary, roosting instinct. 



The going to roost is no hasty matter, but one to be gone about with circumspec- 

 tion. The birds gather slowly and by devious routes, and there is much hesitation 

 and small-talk before the first upward leap or flight is essayed. When the final branch 

 is reached there ensues much half-hearted preening of feathers, the song is perhaps 



