viii LIST OF COLOURED PLATES 



Plate LXXV. SUMATRA BRONZE-TAILED PEACOCK PHEASANT Chalcurus 



chalcurus (Lesson) ....... Facing page 50 



Painted by G. E. Lodge. 



Living in the unknown hinterland of the mountains of Sumatra, almost nothing is known of 

 the habits of this bird. No white man has ever seen it alive, and the few skins have been obtained 

 from natives who have snared them as they came down near their villages in search of food. 



Plate LXXVI. GREY PEACOCK PHEASANT Polypledron bicalcaratum bicalcaratum 



(Linnaeus) ...,.,... Facing page 56 



Painted by G. E. Lodge. 



Singly or in small families these birds are found among the mountains of Burma and Western 

 China. It is difficult to see them, for their senses are very keen, and they are never off guard. 

 They are shielded by terrible growths of thorn cane, or when approach seems easy, a flock of 

 babblers will discover you, give warning, and send the pheasants off with a rush. They scarcely 

 ever fly, but skulk through the jungle, ascending trees only to roost upon a limb at night. 



Plate LXXVII. GERMAIN'S PEACOCK PHEASANT Polypledron bicalcarahmt 



germaini Elliot • ....... Facing page 74 



Painted by L. A. Fiiertes. 



Where the Peacock Pheasants extend their range southward through Siam into the humid, 

 semi-tropical forests of Cochin-China, they become darker in general coloration, with the eyed 

 spots more intense and brilliant. The transition is gradual, so that while the two extremes are 

 quite distinct, it is possible to separate them only sub-specifically. In habits and nesting they 

 are identical. 



Plate LXXVIII. MALAY PEACOCK PHEASANT Polyplectron malaccensis (Scopoli) 



Painted by G. E. Lodge. Facing page 76 



Many decades will pass before the last Malay Peacock Pheasant is driven from its haunts. It 

 is guarded so well by a host of tropical terrors, which rise at every foot and dispute one's advance 

 into its realm, that until the last mile of fever swamp is drained and the last valley cleared of its 

 leech-filled underbrush these pheasants will exist, skulking through the jungles and carrying on 

 their small businesses of life hidden from all save the lowly forest folk. It is a land of dreadful 

 silences, filled with gorgeous birds and butterflies, where man alone finds life unbearable. 



Plate LXXIX. BORNEAN PEACOCK PHEASANT Polyplectron schleiermacheri 



Briiggemann ........ Facing page 88 



Painted by G. E. Lodge. 



This is the most brilliant of the Burmese group of Peacock Pheasants. It is found in hilly 

 jungle near the centre of Borneo, in the same country as the Argus Pheasant, but it is rare 

 everywhere, and unknown even to many of the native Dyak hunters. 



Plate LXXX. PALAWAN PEACOCK PHEASANT Polypledron napoleonis Lesson 



Painted by L. A. Fuertes. Facing page 92 



The most ^brilliant and specialized of the entire genus, and confined to the small island of 

 Palawan. Only a few specimens have been secured, for most of those trapped by the natives 

 are eaten by jungle cats before they can be saved. 



Plate LXXXI. MALAY OCELLATED PHEASANT Rheinardius nigrescens 



Rothschild ........ Facing page 106 



Painted by G. E. Lodge. 



The most mysterious of all pheasants are the birds of this group. We live in their 

 neighbourhood, we hear their calls, we find their dancing arenas, and yet, after weeks of search, 

 may catch never a glimpse of the birds themselves. Night after night their call rings out a 

 few hundred yards away, sounding much like the call of the Argus, but with a muffled resonance 

 which is unmistakable. In appearance they recall some Chinese imaginary Phoenix. 



