LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES xi 



Plate LXVI. BURMESE BARRED-BACKED PHEASANT Syrmaticus humiae 



burmanicus (Oates) ....... Facing page 184 



Painted by G. E. Lodge. 



^ It is seldom that these pheasants make their way down to the low plains, but even in 

 their mountain home few specimens are trapped, as they have the habit of flying over the 

 deadly bamboo fence of the natives, instead of attempting to walk through the dead-fall 

 guarded openings. 



1 found them feeding on seeds and berries, and associated in pairs. They are shy, and 

 a fleeting glimpse of a blue-headed, wine-coloured bird, splashed with white, was the usual 

 result of a long and patient stalk. 



Plate LXVH. ELLIOT'S PHEASANT Syrmaticus ellioti (Swinhoe) . Facingpage 183 

 Painted by L. A. Fuertes. 



While not rare in captivity and breeding rather freely, Elliot's Pheasants are uncommon 

 in all their wild haunts. Added to this, they are timid and unusually silent birds, and prefer 

 to run than fly whenever danger threatens. Their patterns and colours form a complex design, 

 which in brilliant sunlight is a very beautiful mosaic, quite unlike that of any other pheasant. 



Plate LXVIII. MIKADO PHEASANT Syrmaticus mikado (Grant) . Facingpage 196 



Painted by G. E. Lodge. 



This bird received its name from two long, black, central tail-feathers taken from the head- 

 dress of a Formosan savage. Later the same collector who obtained them was fortunate 

 enough to secure living specimens of this splendid purple and black pheasant. 



The birds appear to be confined to the region of Mount Arizan, in the centre of Formosa, 

 at an elevation of six thousand feet and up. Among the oaks, pines and scrub bamboo 

 clinging to the more or less precipitous sides of the great mountain the Mikado Pheasants 

 make their home. 



PHOTOGRAVURES 



Photogravure 40. GARHWAL HOME OF THE KOKLASS PHEASANT 



Photographs by William Beebe. Facingpage 14 



In May I found Koklass in pairs among the great forests of deodar, fir and oak in native 

 Garhwal. On the steep upper slopes the trunks of these splendid trees all spring diagonally 

 from the ground and at once make a sharp curve upward, standing straight as plummets — ■ 

 living guides to the angle of the slope. 



The park-like spaces between the trees, thick with generations of needles, purple and 

 white anemones and the abundant long-stemmed strawberry, are favourite feeding-grounds of 

 the Koklass. Here they scratch deep holes in the debris of the forest floor in search of grubs 

 and other insects. 



Photogravure 41. WESTERN HIMALAYAN HOME OF THE CHEER 



PHEASANT Facingpage 56 



Photographs by IVilliam Beebe. 



Where the spires of tens of thousands of deodars and spruce climb the mountains, and close 

 around the out-jutting boulders, the hardy Cheer Pheasants spend their days, feeding, sunning 

 themselves, or dusting their plumage at the very brink of the precipices. 



The open slopes and cliffs are steep, and as I climbed them in search of the Cheer, I had 

 to cling to the shrubs, bright with clusters of scarlet rhododendron blooms, and to the rocks to 

 aid my unsteady, shifting footing. For yards I trampled on edelweiss and myriads of tiny, 

 pale blue forget-me-nots, while on the shady sides of the rocks begonias carpeted the bare 

 surface, their dainty pink blossoms waving on long, curved stalks with every breath of the 

 mountain breeze. 



