The Lineated Pheasant of Burmah. 171 



Tennasserim provinces of Burmah. They are birds about the 

 size of a fowl, with glossy black and white plumage in the 

 males, the females being invariably of a sober brown hue ; the 

 fleshy orbits, or naked skin round the eyes, is bright red in 

 both sexes, and both have a well- developed crest. The tail is 

 moderately long, of sixteen feathers, raised in the centre as in 

 the domestic fowl, and held demi-erect, the feathers drooping 

 and curving outwards. Essentially hill birds, they live at 

 various elevations of from 1500 to 7000 feet above the level of 

 the sea, and in places where they occur abundantly, are for 

 the most part the only species of pheasant found, at the com- 

 paratively low elevations frequented by them. 



The male of the species under notice has the colouration 

 of the neck, back, and upper parts generally, almost exactly 

 similar to that of the domestic guinea-fowl. The two arched 

 central tail feathers are of a pearly grey white, much more so 

 than the rest : the throat, breast, and underparts are black, 

 with the sides of the throat and flanks longitudinally striated 

 with white. The head is pure black, with a long pendent crest ; 

 the orbital skin bright red, beak greenish, horny, legs duller 

 and strongly spurred. Length, about 27 to 28 inches, and 

 weight about 3 lbs. The female is a smaller bird, of a light 

 brown colour throughout, without a trace of black ; the orbital 

 skin as in the male, but she has no spurs, and the crest is 

 smaller. The irides are reddish brown in both sexes. 



In 1865, when the last list of vertebrated animals, living in 

 the gardens of the Zoological Society of London, was pub- 

 lished, there were two pairs of this species flourishing there, 

 besides hybrids, and in the same year I brought up two fine 

 males with me from Burmah, which have since been forwarded, 

 and I hope ere this been safely received by the Society. 



Whilst in Burmah, I had several opportunities of seeing 

 this handsome bird in a state of nature, and as hardly anything 

 regarding its habits or economy has as yet been recorded, I 

 proceed to give briefly in detail the results of my own obser- 

 vations, and of information procured on the spot from intel- 

 ligent natives who were in the habit of capturing them, either 

 for their own use, as food, or for sale in Moulmein. 



They breed in the month of " Tagoo," that is, about the 

 month of May, or beginning of June. The nest is always 

 built on the ground, and the female lays from five to seven 

 eggs of a brownish olive colour, like those of the English 

 pheasant, but perhaps somewhat smaller ; the young male is at 

 first like the female in colour, but apparently begins to gain 

 his proper plumage after the first moult, and has it perfected 

 by the end of a year. The general habitat of the species may 

 be defined as the thick bamboo and forest jungle, which 



