254 The Argus Pheasant, 



colours and rich eye-like spots, which are so ornamental 

 when seen in a museum, must harmonise well with the dead 

 leaves among which it dwells, and render it very inconspicuous. 

 All the specimens sold in Malacca are caught in snares, and 

 my informant, though he had shot none, had snared plenty." 



The great peculiarity of the birds of this genus is that the 

 secondary flight feathers of the wings are excessively enlarged 

 and lengthened, being in the males double the length of the 

 primaries, and covered on the outer webs with the singular 

 ocellated spots from whence the bird derives its name. In 

 the male, also, the two central tail feathers are extremely 

 elongated, and project in a very singular manner beyond the 

 others. 



For many years Argus giganteus was the only known 

 species in the genus ; but another smaller Argus {A. grayi) 

 is now known by specimens in the British Museum from 

 Borneo ; there is also A. ocellatus from the Highlands of 

 Tonquin, and the existence of one or two others is suspected 

 from specimens of feathers differing from those of the known 

 species. 



The great Argus is over five feet in length, the tail being 

 three feet eight inches long. The prevaihng colour of the 

 plumage is ochreous red or brown, unrelieved by any lively 

 or brilUant shade. The tints are distributed with so much 

 harmony, and covered with such a profusion of small spots 

 or even points, sometimes darker and sometimes lighter than 

 the ground, that they produce the most agreeable effect. 

 Its long and broad secondary feathers are covered in their 

 entire length by a row of large eye-like spots, closely imitating 

 half globes ; the colour of these, as that of the plumage, has, 

 however, something resembHng ancient bronze. The primary 

 feathers, with whitish external barbs, speckled with brown, 

 and with inner barbs of the colour of a fallow deer, dotted 

 with white, have their shafts of the most beautiful sky blue. 

 The naked skin of the face and neck is bright blue, and 

 contrasts well with the bronze hue of the plumage. The female 



