50 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



The Argus Pheasant belongs to the dense wild forests 

 of the East Indies — to the great island of Sumatra, and 

 the Malay Peninsula, and Siam. You will find his 

 portrait adorning the postage stamps of North Borneo. 

 He is a shy bird, loving the lonely depths of the jungle, 

 and you may travel many days through his haunts with- 

 out seeing him or his mate. 



But, by rare chance, a traveller, if his tread be not 

 noisy, may not only espy the two birds but be witness of 

 the strange antics the former goes through in what must 

 be called his dancing ground. This is usually an open 

 space of some six or eight yards square, shut in by thick 

 bushes or cane-brake, and cleared of all dead leaves, 

 weeds, or refuse. 



He is scrupulously particular about having this floor 

 kept clear and kept clean, and will spend any amount of 

 time, and go to any trouble, in order to remove anything 

 which he thinks should not be there. 



It is often only by erecting a trap in this dancing 

 ground that the Malay natives are able to capture this 

 solitude-loving bird, and the traps have to be, and 

 certainly are, of a highly ingenious kind. 



Mr. Davison, the traveller and naturalist, relates how 

 he stalked an Argus Pheasant (I think in Tenasserim). 



While waiting to get a good shot he beheld a male 

 Fireback Pheasant coming running into the "drawing- 

 room " of the Argus, and begin to chase the rightful 

 owner round and round the space. The Argus seemed to 

 have very little pluck, though he was clearly very un- 

 willing to abandon his playground. But at last he bolted 

 into the surrounding jungle. 



The Fireback then adopted a "King of the Castle" 

 attitude and manner, making a curious whirring flutter 



