BLACK-BACKED KALEEGE 37 



brown. The eggs vary from 45 to 50 mm. in length, and from 36 to 39 mm. in breadth, 

 the average being about 48 by 37 mm. 



Formerly the Black-backed Kaleege were abundant, but constant snaring and 

 shooting in and out of season has sadly depleted their numbers. As early as 1885 it 

 was said of the kaleege about Darjeeling that while they used to be very common, now 

 few are seen, and in 1900 the same author (W. P. Masson) adds that, owing to 

 the forest chowkidars snaring the birds all the year round, the kaleege is now one of the 

 rarest birds near the hill station. This is true of all the more frequented parts of the 

 bird's range, although it is still fairly common in many isolated forests. Its haunts are 

 all so accessible, however, and the range as a whole is so limited in extent, that the close 

 season must be enforced rigorously if the species is not to become extinct. The fact that 

 it thrives on the tea estates is a point in its favour, for the owners can forbid all killing 

 or snaring on their grounds with much more hope of enforcement than could possibly be 

 the case with the successful carrying out of any general law. 



On the other hand, it is almost impossible to keep the coolies from appropriating 

 every egg which they find, and so, in spite of protection of the old birds, they are 

 constantly growing scarcer, and as the majority of these kaleege live in places which will 

 sooner or later be turned into the lucrative tea estates, there seems little ultimate hope 

 for the species. 



CAPTIVITY 



A number of Black-backed Kaleege were among the survivors of the large pheasant 

 collection which was received in London in July 1857, ^^^ ^^^Y t)red in the gardens of 

 the Zoological Society the following year. Since then this species has been reared in 

 captivity many times in most of the large public collections and by many private 

 individuals. Two rather remarkable crosses have been produced of this species with the 

 Impeyan and with Reeves pheasant. 



Its care in captivity differs in no way from that which should be accorded to the 

 common silver pheasant, of which I have treated in detail as typical of this entire genus. 

 The period of incubation of the Black-backed Kaleege is about twenty-four days. Of 

 eight individuals confined in the London Zoo of which a record has been kept, the 

 average length of life was three years and nine months, while the longest-lived kaleege 

 survived for a period of thirteen years and five months, this being the record for longevity 

 for the whole genus. 



DETAILED DESCRIPTION 



Adult Male. — Crest shorter than in the white-crested kaleege, but of the same 

 filamentous, hairy character. Crown, crest and neck all around glossy steel blue. 

 Mantle and back bluish purple, rump with more greenish reflections, all the feathers 

 with a convex fringe of deep, rich purple. Wing-coverts and secondaries glossed with 

 greenish. Primaries dull brown, secondaries dull brownish-black on the concealed 

 parts of the webs. Upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers metallic purplish-green on the 

 exposed portions of the webs, dull black elsewhere. Ear-coverts, chin and throat 

 dull black, the latter merging almost at once into the lanceolate, almost pure white, 



