SATYR TRAGOPAN 6i 



On the crown and nape the feathers are wholly brownish black, with only a narrow 

 terminal shaft-wedge of warm buff. From the neck backward, including the scapulars, 

 back, rump, wing-coverts, tertiaries and innermost secondaries, fore neck, breast and 

 sides we find an interesting pattern, changing in lesser details and hue, but keeping 

 remarkably true to a single type, and characteristic, as we shall see, of the teleoptile 

 plumage as well. This consists of a warm buffy background, mottled with black, with 

 a conspicuous terminal paddle-shaped shaft-stripe of clear pale buff, flanked on each side 

 with a rounded black ocellus. On the nape these ocelli first detach themselves from 

 the solid black of the basal portion of the feathers ; on the breast there are in addition 

 two or even three pairs of spots forming rough transverse bands ; while on the second- 

 aries an ocellus is present only on the outer web. They reach their highest development 

 on the tertiaries, where the neatly round black ocelli are accentuated by a surrounding 

 ring of light buff. On the lower breast and belly the mesoptile pattern becomes rather 

 obscured by a general paling and decrease of dark marking. The primaries and tail 

 feathers only are free from this interesting mesoptile pattern, the former being dark 

 brown with a notched band of rich rufous mottling on the outer webs, while the tail 

 feathers show as many as eleven distinct, shaded, transverse bands, black and pale buff 

 on a dark brownish buff background. 



The bird at this stage has increased considerably in size, its measurements now 

 being: length, 304; wing, 152; tail, 97; culmen, 10; tarsus, 41 ; middle toe and claw, 

 43 mm. The 9th and loth primaries have at last shot out to a distance of 91 and 63 

 respectively, but the 8th has not quite completed its growth. The final autumn moult 

 of the primaries is well under way. The ist is almost full length ; the 2nd only 68 

 out of the sheath, while No. 3 has just broken its sheath ; 4, 5, 6, and 7 stand patiently 

 waiting their turn. Although faded, they do not show unusual signs of wear, while 

 the secondaries which still remain are in a sad state, frayed and torn as if they bore 

 some special stress in the flight or other activities of the young bird. The renewal of 

 these feathers is progressing as usual from without inward, three pairs being in various 

 stages of simultaneous growth. 



The tail shows no signs of renewal as yet, the innermost pairs being mesoptile 

 and still firmly in place. 



First Year Plumage. — Shortly after the attainment of the complete juvenile 

 plumage, the general autumn moult begins, and although, unlike the blood partridge, 

 this plumage resembles rather closely that which it replaces, yet it is as complete as 

 though it reflected all the gorgeous tints of the fully adult males. 



A bird shot in September shows almost the complete first winter plumage, except 

 that the bird appears small, due to the fact that most of the feathers of the body, wings 

 and tail are not full grown. In general the appearance of the male is now much more 

 like the adult female than is the juvenile plumage. If we consider the two chief modes 

 of variation of the adult females as excess of dark colour and of rufous, the young males 

 will lie fairly between these extremes. In place of the clear, conspicuous shaft-streaks 

 of the dorsal juvenile feathers we find a more confused mottling of the central area. 

 The old feathers show decided fading, the warm buff having turned whitish grey, while 

 the new incoming feathers restore the warmer tone. In the new plumage the two black. 



