NEPAL KALEEGE 



Gennaeus leucomelamts (Latham) 



Names. — Specific : leucomelanus, from Greek hvxog white, and jueXag black. English : Nepal Kaleege 

 Pheasant. Native : Kalich or Kalij (Perbuttia), Rechabo (Bhutia), Nepal. 



Brief Description.— Male : Similar to the white-crested kaleege {G. albocristatus), but with the crest 

 somewhat shorter and bluish black instead of whitish, and the white fringe on the feathers of the back and rump 

 narrower. Female : Differs from most females of the white-crested kaleege in being generally darker, especially 

 below where the ground colour of the plumage is dark reddish brown. 



Range. — Nepal. 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION 



Elsewhere I have discussed the standing of this bird, and here need only 

 emphasize the fact that the Nepal Kaleege is a perfectly well-marked species. Although 

 showing a certain amount of variation, there is no indication of true hybridization with 

 neighbouring species. 



This is emphasized by its range, which is quite distinct. It does not reach the 

 Arun River, in the eastern part of Nepal, and does not appear to have been taken west of 

 Jemlah, in the extreme west of the state. In the Dun of south Nepal it is found well 

 down in suitable localities and northward to about mid-Nepal. Altitudinally it probably 

 seldom exceeds an elevation of nine thousand feet. Its entire range may thus be 

 included in a long, narrow rectangle of about three hundred and fifty by fifty miles. 



general account 



To the west of Nepal I had watched and studied the white-crested kaleege in the 

 oak forests of Garhwal ; east of Nepal many days were spent in the moss-hung jungles 

 where the black-backed kaleege lived, but because my skin was fair, not yellow ; because 

 my eyes had not that slight Mongolian slant which marks the Ghurka or native 

 Nepalese, I was never able to see in life the Nepal Kaleege. For this bird keeps well 

 within the boundaries of this sturdy little kingdom, and no Caucasian is permitted to 

 enter its maze of tumbled mountain ranges. The one exception is the solitary 

 Englishman who acts as Government agent at Khatmandu. But even he may not leave 

 the vicinity of this particular valley. It is upon the specimens and facts obtained by 

 these agents that we must base our meagre knowledge of this kaleege, which, however, 

 appears to differ in no particular, in its general mode of life, from its allies to the 

 west and to the east. 



By the courtesy of the late Maharaja of Nepal, I was able to obtain several recently 



killed pairs of these birds, which furnished data as to plumage and food. 



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