SATYR TRAGOPAN 55 



sheep trail. When I have examined the work of a bird scratching in the jungle, I have 

 found single, fairly deep holes here and there, perhaps a yard or more apart, as if the 

 Tragopan had concentrated its efforts in some likely spot instead of scratching vaguely 

 and superficially over a wide area as the kaleege pheasants are wont to do. 



The feral enemies of the Satyr Tragopan assuredly are of less account than its 

 present danger from mankind, but from the natural wariness of the bird we must infer 

 that they are bad enough. And here we must mention the remarkably arboreal 

 character of this and other Tragopans, as probably indicating unusual dangers to be 

 feared on the ground. Eagles, leopards, foxes, and especially the jungle cat and the 

 larger species of civets are probably most to be dreaded. Mr. Ray Ellis, in Calcutta, 

 told me that he once shot a leopard which had just dropped a still warm, dead Tragopan. 

 The locality was fir forest with occasional clumps of thick rhododendron bushes. 



When approached by a man, the bird will almost invariably run swiftly away, 

 head low, threading rapidly the bamboo stems, but when suddenly surprised or when 

 rushed by a dog, the bird flies at once, rising with a loud whirr. In the latter case, 

 the birds, as Hume tells us, will often fly straight upward into a tree, where they will 

 crane their necks down at the dog, uttering subdued alarm notes, and influenced 

 apparently as much by curiosity as by fear. Even where they have been but little 

 hunted, they leave their perch at once on the appearance of man — sahib or native. 

 Without hesitation, a Tragopan will interpret and act on the notes of warning or 

 alarm uttered by ravens or laughing thrushes, and although the pheasant may have 

 had no direct hint of danger, it slips instantly away when it hears the angry croaks 

 or the cachinnations of the other birds. 



RELATION TO MAN 



The Nepalese shepherds have learned that these birds ascend and descend the 

 slopes of the valleys to feed, and they take advantage of this by erecting a low, wattled 

 cross fence which extends across the usual route taken by the birds. In this are left 

 several openings, and here nooses are strung or scattered about on the ground, and 

 the poor bird has slight chance of evading this entanglement. Occasionally these 

 natives will have a drive, when by forming a line and slowly advancing they can force 

 several birds toward and through the openings, the birds, when not frightened, choosing 

 to escape by running rather than by flight. I once purchased from a Nepalese a bundle 

 of about two hundred yak-hair nooses. He told the interpreter that there were four 

 *'mon41" in his valley; two he had already caught and eaten, and the others he 

 would soon have. 



Captain Beavan, who has written of this method of snaring Tragopans, notes that 

 four or five times as many cocks are caught as hens. I think this is due to the fact 

 that the hens rely much more on their mottled colouring and will sometimes not move 

 until almost stepped on, and thus many are liable to be passed by the line of beaters, 

 while the more nervous, suspicious cocks flush more readily, and run on to avoid 

 discovery. 



In shooting this bird, sportsmen count on a sudden surprise in early morning when 

 the Tragopans are out feeding, or else by a systematic beating with dogs, although if 



