198 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



" I cannot agree with Dr. Moltrecht that the females of this Pheasant are found at 

 a lower altitude than the males. I met with both sexes together, at the same season of 

 the year, at any altitude above six thousand feet along the Arizan region ; below that 

 elevation I do not believe they are to be found. I questioned the savages about this 

 repeatedly, and they all agreed with me that it was so. The Arizan forests slope up 

 from the west, culminating in a sharp, razor-backed ridge running north and south for 

 many miles. From about the centre of this, the great bulk of Arizan itself bulges out to 

 the west, ending in huge precipices. Everywhere up to the top the ridge is covered with 

 dense forest, with a still denser undergrowth of scrub-bamboo averaging about seven 

 feet high. Above six thousand feet, giant cypress-trees predominate, with many 

 junipers and pines just along the ridge. 



'' To the south, where I pitched my first camp, great oaks were quite as numerous 

 as cypresses. On the east side of the ridge, facing Mount Morrison, is a very deep valley 

 with remarkably steep sides. In some places it is covered with high grass, and in 

 others with trees. It is on the ledges among the latter that the Mikado Pheasant 

 permanently lives and probably breeds. Almost everywhere it is much too steep for any 

 one to descend very far ; were it not so, I should probably have been able to obtain more 

 living birds than I did. Failing this, the only way was to set the snares for catching 

 them along the top, and a little way down the west side of the ridge. 



''In the early mornings and evenings the birds came over the ridge to feed, but 

 descended only a very short distance. If any were flushed they always flew straight up 

 the ridge and over to the other side, but on two occasions a cock bird alighted in a pine- 

 tree on the top and remained there until the hens had time to get away below. It was 

 very rarely that we saw the birds, for they were very scattered and nowhere numerous. 

 On two occasions I saw a pair, once two hens, and again at another time a cock with 

 two hens. That was the sum total seen during three months. One of the cocks I shot, 

 as I then had a number of living males. 



"On my way to meet Mr. Elwes on his arrival at Arizan I flushed the cock with 

 two hens mentioned above. The latter instantly flew away down the cliffs, but the cock 

 remained behind among the ferns clucking like a hen with chickens. I was accompanied 

 by a savage, and together we went to investigate, and when within a few yards of the 

 spot a fine cock Mikado rose and went right over the cliffs, like an arrow. I had 

 a continuous view of him until he alighted in the trees below, and very beautiful he 

 looked with his long white-barred tail ; otherwise he appeared quite black on the wing 

 With the exception mentioned above, all the skins I obtained were those of birds which 

 had died in the snares or had been otherwise injured. 



'' I had from the first with much difficulty impressed upon the savages that they 

 were never to shoot pheasants, as there seemed to be so few in any one district. At first 

 I tried various methods of catching them, but none succeeded ; so at last I was forced to 

 depend upon the savages' plan, which was effectual, but at the same time the birds ran a 

 great chance of being seriously damaged. The snares were set for many miles along the 

 ridge and upper part of the forests, several hundreds being put down simultaneously. 



" It was out of the question trying to attract them with grain, raisins, or other food. 

 I tried these at first without any success, and when I secured my first living examples I 

 soon found out the reason. It was most difficult to get the birds to eat grain, one or 



