148 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



have any but the crudest instincts and feelings in the matter, their lives, as we view 

 them, are absorbingly full of interest. 



I saw nothing of the actual nesting of the Bornean Argus, but Dyaks in widely 

 separated villages and from different tribes told me that Ruoi laid two eggs, at the time 

 of year corresponding to our March and April. Two eggs which I examined were fowl- 

 like in general shape and colour, clear white and rather glossy. They measured 46 by 

 66, and 48 by 67 mm. 



RELATION TO MAN 



The eyes on the wing-feathers of the Argus Pheasant are used by some of the inland 

 tribes of Borneo as decorations. Twice only have I seen these feathers used in head- 

 dresses, once by one of my dancers near Kapit, and again by a strange savage whom I 

 met in the jungle to the west of the Balleh River. Usually the hornbill's wing or tail- 

 feathers are preferred. The war-bonnet of the Dyaks is a small round basket woven of 

 fine cane and carefully and symbolically decorated with embroidery by the women. 

 Long feathers are inserted in the top, the favourites being those of the hornbill, the 

 domestic cock and the Argus Pheasant. The ocelli or eye-spots are used by the Bahan 

 and other tribes as patterns for tattooed ornaments, especially on the leg. These are 

 called kalong kerip kwe, meaning Argus-feather-ornaments. In connection with 

 tattooing, the tribe of Kayans have a curious legend about the Argus ; for they believe 

 that even the animals have some knowledge of this art. Both the Bornean crow and the 

 Argus Pheasant were once very plain, dull-coloured birds, and one day they decided 

 mutually to ornament each other. The wise crow thoroughly understood the art of 

 tatooing and at once set seriously to work, and was eminently successful in his efforts, 

 magnificently to decorate his friend. Then the Argus attempted to reciprocate and 

 render the crow a similar service. The Pheasant, however, being a stupid bird, soon 

 soon saw that his work was not prospering, and taking the whole of the black pigment, 

 he distributed it uniformly over the plumage of his friend, and to this day the birds 

 wear wholly different patterns and colours. 



The Dyaks have many methods of trapping Argus Pheasants, some of which are 

 very unlike the snares of the Malays. I never heard of the blowpipe being used, 

 probably owing to the difficulty of getting within range. The commonest way is by use 

 of a long fence of brush, sometimes several hundred yards in length, although this 

 wholesale method catches a far greater number of smaller birds, mammals and reptiles than 

 Argus. The shrubs and undergowth of the forest are felled for a width of several yards 

 and packed down tightly. Then many openings are made, each gap preferably in the 

 vicinity of a tall, springy sapling. A little frame of woven reeds is laid in the opening 

 of the fence, one edge raised slightly from the ground and supported by a bit of twine. 

 To this in turn is attached the trigger which is slightly caught in a shallow notch of an 

 arched strip of bamboo fixed in the ground. Around the platform a noose is arranged 

 and attached to the bent sapling. The slightest pressure on the platform or treadle 

 releases the trigger and the sapling flies up, ensnaring the victim and lifting it high 

 above the reach of hungry four-footed animals. Even monkeys and the little muntjac 

 deer are caught in these snares. But while the setting of traps is executed with great 

 skill and care, the natives believe that they are of no use whatever if certain rites are 



