TEMMINCK'S TRAGOPAN 91 



The two little horns, which ordinarily are concealed beneath the feathers of the head, 

 are at the moment of display raised, elongated and slightly distended, appearing well 

 above the head plumage. The wattle, which usually hangs limp and shrivelled, partly 

 concealed within the concavity of the throat, at the supreme moment of courtship is 

 distended with great rapidity, so that it forms a brilliant, particoloured apron or shield 

 over the front of the bird. The Chinese are able to make a solitary cock bird display 

 quite frequently by placing a mirror in front of the cage. 



A few weeks before the breeding season, the cock Tragopan, with the brightening of 

 its fleshy hues, begins to pay more attention to the hen. In the wild state we must 

 remember that the male, in all probability, has spent the winter and early spring in 

 solitary state, and only later, as we have shown in the case of the satyr tragopan, does 

 he take up a conspicuous place and send out his challenge and love notes. In captivity, 

 if confined at a distance from the hen, the two will call to each other at intervals during 

 the day. When together in the same enclosure, I have never heard the female utter any 

 unusual note at this season. 



As the breeding season approaches, and the loud challenge cries have remained 

 unanswered, the cock commences actual display. Various authors have divided the 

 courtship actions into several categories, but those appear to have no value as indications 

 of actually complete, separate performances, but rather represent gradual approaches, 

 varying in intensity, to the final elaborate ensemble. The principal preliminary overtures 

 may be described as follows — 



1. A slow, stately walk about the female, the wing toward her lowered and partly 

 spread, the shoulder on the farther side raised, the body being thus flattened, with much 

 of the upper plumage in view. 



2. A sudden rush with partly spread wings, with or without the erecting of the 

 horns, or the wattle, or both. 



3. In the tout-ensemble of the climax, the bird suddenly ceases its stately gait, the 

 plumage of most of the lower parts is fluffed out ; the half-spread, drooping wings move 

 slowly, with wrist edges well out from the body and tips pressed inward and downward ; 

 the head and neck vibrating spasmodically until the horns and wattle flash out to their 

 utmost. This last trick gives to the Tragopan an indescribable appearance : from 

 beautiful it becomes gaudy ; from an excited, half-crouching bird, it changes to a 

 grotesque, painted creature, and before one knows whether to admire or merely marvel, 

 the moment has passed, the horns and wattle contract, the feathers settle, and after a 

 moment the Tragopan walks off, or it may at once begin to pick up food. Any move- 

 ment on the part of the hen at once attracts its attention, and soon the stately walk and 

 slanting display may be renewed. 



The culmination of this extreme display is unquestionably more or less involuntary 

 or impulsive — that is, the bird is suddenly wrought up to an ecstatic state comparable to 

 the spel of the capercaillie. 



A French pheasant fancier describes the courtship of this Tragopan as taking place 

 morning and evening. The bird appears as if taken with convulsions, erecting the 

 horns and the crest; while the blue and red lappet seems to shoot out from the throat, 

 following the abrupt movements of the head. It swells up all over, erecting itself 

 quickly, and appearing covered with a magnificent breastplate, reaching almost to the 



