THE CROW-PHEASANT 225 
as a “mincing gait.” He evidently does not mean 
to trip, for he lifts his feet absurdly high at each step. 
He never hops; he would not do anything so vulgar. 
The manner in which he picks up his food is in 
accordance with his gait. He does not, like the hoopoe 
or the common or garden fowl, greedily gobble up 
everything he comes across, He picks and chooses, 
He gives one the idea that he is an epicure. Whether 
this is so or not, he undoubtedly feeds with great 
caution. 
His whole attitude is that of looking before he leaps. 
He goes systematically along a hedge, casting, as he 
progresses, frequent glances to right and left, oc- 
casionally pulling something small out of the ground— 
presumably a grub or an insect. Now and again, he 
will penetrate the hedge, for, like small boys, he is 
addicted to worming his way into dense thickets merely 
for the fun of the thing. 
Having ‘eaten up everything to his taste in the 
vicinity of the hedge, the crow-pheasant will take to 
the open, progressing with the same mincing steps and 
looking about with the utmost wariness, and if he 
perceives a human being, he will at once make for the 
nearest tree. If the coast seems clear, the bird con- 
tinues his stately progress. Suddenly he espies a 
grasshopper. He then casts off his phlegmatic air and 
makes a most undignified dash at the insect. The 
latter is usually too quick for him, and hops off, but 
the crow-pheasant is not to be denied; he jumps after 
it, being assisted by his wings, 
An exciting chase usually ensues, in which it is not 
Q 
