PLATE XVII 



SCLATER'S IMPEYAN PHEASANT 



Lophophorus sclateri Jerdon 



The least known of all the Impeyans is this curl-crested bird, clad in shimmering gold, green and 

 blue iridescence. Until now, only the wild tribes of Aborland have known where to find it, and the few 

 skins in our museums have been secured by them. After a day of difficult exploration, I found three of the 

 Impeyans deep in the wilderness of northern Yunnan. One I secured and the two others boomed away over 

 the bamboos, far off into the distant valley. Their haunts are so well guarded by savage tribes that it may 

 be impossible to see them before* the birds become extinct. So limited is the region they inhabit, so narrow 

 are the upper ridges on which they make their home, there can be but few of them alive in the world. 



