COMMON KOKLASS PHEASANT 13 



pheasants. The broods of young birds do seem to remain in more or less close 

 association until early spring, when they separate and pair. 



At other than the cold season, more than two Koklass are hardly ever found 

 together, while a solitary bird is almost certain to be an unmated bird of the year. 



The voice of this pheasant is very characteristic, and in spring the first morning 

 after one pitches camp in some new region, the presence or absence of Koklass is 

 indicated by the early morning crow or corresponding silence. In places where there 

 has not been much shooting, the voice of the cock is always at hair-trigger poise. 

 After the report of a gun, every bird within a half-mile, or anywhere within hearing, 

 will instantly crow, and the same is true of a clap of thunder. They keep this up with 

 great persistence, and after even half-a-dozen peals of thunder, or ten or twelve reports of 

 a shot-gun, the crows are as numerous and vigorous as ever. I have heard dozens of 

 Koklass crowing, and after many attempts I find that the best translation I can make 

 is that which I have already given, Ah I croaak ! croaak-croaak I crok ! the last note 

 being uttered very low and apparently with the last of the exhaled breath. 



On the conifer and oak-covered slopes the Koklass feed slowly upward from the 

 water at the bottom, often passing up narrow, deep-sided ravines. At such times the 

 birds are almost always in pairs, and the male usually feeds in advance of the female. 

 When engaged in feeding the birds are very quiet, only now and then uttering a low 

 cluck or chuckle. 



Once at a low elevation I came upon a hen Koklass with her partly grown young, 

 while the cock was some hundred feet farther up the slope. The moment my dog 

 appeared the male flew into a tree, crying loudly, ktik I kuk ! kuk ! kuk I ko-ka ! 

 ko-ka I ko-ka ! for a minute or two, the utterance then gradually dying away into 

 kok I kok I kok ! ko ! ko I ka I This was evidently a warning, as the female and 

 chicks squatted at once and did not move until the dog blundered upon them. When 

 Koklass are flushed suddenly they usually, but not always, give utterance to considerable 

 outcry, unlike the kaleege pheasants. The crow of these birds has much the same 

 quality of tone as the croak of a raven, but the tempo is always the same, the broken 

 note, when heard indistinctly a long distance away, recalling the crow of a junglefowl. 



Koklass have a slow, dignified gait, dainty and cautious when on their uphill 

 feeding journey, more rapid when making their way down to water. When running, 

 as they often will from a dog or other danger which they perceive in time, they stretch 

 out the neck and tail and make great speed. I have seen them swerve from their path 

 in rather open places to run along behind a fallen log. When they think^ they can 

 escape unseen, both cock and hen will crouch close to the ground, but when the dog is 

 near enough to be dangerous, they fly up into the tree overhead, either silently or with 

 a burst of chuckles. But when a man appears, especially if the region has been shot 

 over, they waste no time, but leap to wing at once. They fly downward if possible, 

 beating rapidly and dodging skilfully if tree-trunks are numerous. On a long, steep, 

 sheer open shute or valley, the Koklass half shuts its wings and literally drops like a 

 stone, so rapidly that the eye can scarcely follow. In such a place, they give a few 

 whirrs at the start, but after that gravitation is their sole motive power. 



The food of the Koklass is varied, but those which I observed seemed to prefer 

 insect food to all else and spent much of their time in search of it. But no edible 



