MALAY ARGUS PHEASANT 127 



perforations, so we see that the swelling design near her tail-sting is twice as thick as 

 the other and with a double row of dots. 



In reference to the loud, plaintive, nocturnal cry of the Argus the Malays have a 

 saying, " Like the Argus calling in the jungle," the simile being to the half-despairing 

 love of something or some one a great distance away. 



In the Federated Malay States, although the Argus is included with other birds 

 which are protected by a close season, this is needless as far as the sportsman with a 

 gun is concerned. Junglefowl are often shot and figure on menus in Kuala Lumpur as 

 game-birds, but it is almost impossible to find any one who has even caught a glimpse 

 of an Argus. A District Officer in Pahang, with twenty years' experience in various 

 parts of the jungle, told me that in all that time he had known of but one Argus being 

 shot, the shooter in question being after big game and the bird flying between him and 

 the moon, on its way to its roosting-branch. He himself, while he had heard hundreds 

 calling, had never seen one. I had but little trouble in seeing them, especially in 

 Borneo, where I made a dead set at studying them, using an umbrella tent or a perch in 

 a tree for the purpose. 



The birds are trapped on every possible occasion by the natives, as both their flesh 

 and feathers are saleable, and large numbers of the latter are constantly smuggled out 

 of the country. 



CAPTIVITY 



Argus Pheasants have been kept in captivity in many countries, both in public 

 zoological gardens and in private aviaries. In both they have been bred successfully, 

 but they must be considered as delicate birds, kept in good condition only by constant 

 care and watchfulness. They seem more susceptible to disease, however, than to 

 climate. Live Argus Pheasants were taken to Java as early as 1780, being brought 

 from Malacca, and they were considered great curiosities. In our own country they do 

 not long resist the extreme changes of temperature or other inimical factors of their life 

 in captivity, and seldom live longer than a year or two. England seems better suited 

 to them, and as they do not have to be housed in heated rooms in the winter, they show 

 a much greater average viability. Of twenty-two Argus which have been in the 

 possession of the London Zoo, the average length of life has been three and a half years, 

 while the record age of this lot of captive birds is thirteen years and seven months. 

 This is far exceeded by certain Argus Pheasants which have been kept by private 

 fanciers in France. Here we read of a bird originally imported direct from the Malay 

 Peninsula which lived over thirty years in captivity. Several of these ^^x'wdX^ faisaniers 

 have detailed their experience in the " Bulletin " of the Societd d'Acclimatation de France, 

 and some of this is well worthy of translation. 



When the newly imported Argus Pheasants reach France they are usually 

 bedraggled, and with many feathers missing. The customary shelter is a high 

 enclosure, open and arched, without windows, but with an eastern exposure. These 

 pheasants feed upon grain of all kinds, principally corn and fdveroles. They also are 

 fond of husked acorns, and, in season, berries, grapes and stoned cherries. The birds 

 moult normally from September to November, and if this is successful they pass the 

 winter without ailment or suffering. For while Argus Pheasants are delicate in 



