COMMON KOKLASS PHEASANT 17 



as we scramble up a narrow hill-path was not in evidence when I retired to bed at 10.30 

 last evening, but now it is so bright that even under the trees we are not quite at a loss 

 to follow the narrow path. The hillman goes first, as in spite of numerous tramps of 

 this kind, I know the native of the soil will follow the main path much better than I 

 can, and will lead me to our destination in spite of various cattle-tracks that criss-cross 

 our road, which is, after all, only a rather larger cattle-track. The average hill native 

 has an eye for hilly country that the British-born ruler of the land will seldom equal in 

 spite of much practice. It is not surprising, as most of us are brought up under widely 

 different circumstances. 



" In the meantime, we have travelled a long way, and the stars in the East are paling 

 and the moon begins to have a wash-out appearance ; however, we can take it easy now, 

 as we are quite high up enough for the Koklass. A few minutes later the small 

 birds begin to chirp, and along the crest of the hill we are on comes a fresh breeze in 

 fitful gusts, the usual harbinger of dawn at these altitudes. It will die away soon, and 

 in fine weather the leaves hardly stir again until the evening. The breeze brings down 

 a few brown and curled silver birch leaves, making one think of autumn,' and I could 

 wish many more of other kinds were down as well. 



"We push on a bit and reach a small plateau, the head of three nullahs, and now, as 

 the light grows stronger every moment, we sit down to listen, hoping to hear the prate, 

 prate of the Koklass somewhere below us, and shortly after the wail of the last maraud- 

 ing jackal has died away, far down in the valley below, we hear the longed-for sound, 

 something like, only far softer than that emitted by the bazaar moorghi, when she is 

 looking for a place to deposit her egg, not like the cackle she makes when it is laid. 



I* Now we must be as quick as possible, or this will be the only brood we shall hear 

 calling. We hastily look round for the easiest way to them, and then the native beckons 

 me and we make off. He well knows I wish him to keep wide of them until well 

 beneath them, and then work up towards them. In ten minutes we are below them, and 

 then we proceed more cautiously down into the bed of the now dry torrent. Here I 

 halt, and turning round, meet the bright, questioning eyes of my little spaniel ; no need 

 to speak ; a wave of the hand and she is off, going at full speed. She makes a cast one 

 hundred yards in front of us, and a little above, and then returns going at top speed all 

 the time until reaching a ledge in the middle of the water-course, she suddenly stops and 

 turns. A two seconds' examination of the ground with her nose, and she goes straight 

 up the nullah bed and is soon lost to sight amidst boulders and overhanging foliage. 



" I hear nothing for a minute, and then yap, yap, with a peculiar intonation that I 

 know means 'pheasant running ahead of me,' as well as if she spoke. The next second 

 there is a whirr of rushing wings, and out dash two birds almost simultaneously. 

 They are straight above us, and must see us immediately they clear the tree-tops, but 

 not a jot do they care, their object is the khud below us, and down they come, straight 

 as a die, with outspread, motionless wings. I shoot at the first far in front, as I know 

 from experience I shall have to turn my quickest to get a shot at the other. As I turn, 

 the first bird hits a rock by my feet, the second bird was still clear of trees when I fired, 

 but he disappears, but, greatly to our surprise, we see him again for a second as he tops 

 the trees, moving straight upwards, and then turns over and falls with a crash. This is 

 a bit of luck, for had he not towered we should have lost him. 



VOL. Ill D 



