516 BIRDS OF INDIA. 



crested ; throat with a naked expansile gular wattle ; tail short, 

 broad, of eighteen feathers ; tarsi short, robust. Plumage of the 

 male more or less red, with numerous white spots. 



These are birds of rather large size and heavy form, with short 

 tails, found only in the higher regions of the Himalayas and Central 

 Asia. The type was described originally by Linnaeus as a Turkey, 

 from the naked wattles on the head and throat ; and Gould considers 

 it to have considerable affinity for that genus, together with 

 some characters that indicate a relationship to Namida, and even 

 to Francolinus (Galloperdiv ?). Gray places them among the Jungle- 

 fowl ; but from their geographical distribution, I prefer keeping 

 them among the Pheasants. Four species are now known, two of 

 which are peculiar to the Himalayas, and two to the Tibetan side 

 of that range. They are popularly called Argus Pheasants by 

 Sportsmen. 



Ceriornis satyra, Linn^us. 



Meleagris, apud Linnaeus — Gould, Cent. Him. Birds., pi. 62 — 

 Blytii, Cat. 1453 — Satyra Lathami, and S. Pennantii, Gray, 

 Hardwicke, 111. Ind. Zool., pi. 49 and 51 — S. cornuta, Gray — 

 Tirriah-pko, Lepch. — Bap, Bhot. — Dafia, Beng. — ' Monaul' popu- 

 larly by Europeans at Darjeeling, or Argus Pheasant. 



The Sikim Horned Pheasant. 



Descr. — Forehead, uape, and sides bordering the nude parts, 

 black; crest formed of slender hair-like feathers, black in front, 

 red behind ; back, rump, wings, and upper tail-coverts brown, 

 finely barred with black, with a white ocellus, which on the wing- 

 coverts and the sides of the rump are inserted on a maronne red 

 spot at the tip of each feather ; quills dark brown, with dark 

 rufous bands and bars ; shoulders of wings bright fiery red, 

 unspotted ; the sides of the upper tail-coverts olive fulvous, with 

 black tips ; tail black, with numerous narrow dark rufous bars, 

 more marked at the base and on the sides ; sides and back of 

 neck, breast, and all the lower parts, fine rich crimson red, with 

 white spots mostly edged with deep black. 



Bill brown ; orbits, erectile horns, and neck and throat, fine 

 blue, here and there spotted with orange ; the skin of the throat 



