34 GAME BIIiDS OF INDIA. 



various intervals, sometimes every five or ten minutes for hours to- 

 gether, and sometimes not more than two or three times during the 

 day, and most probably to invite the females to the spot. When the 

 business of incubation is over, each brood with the parent birds 

 keep collected together about one spot, and descend towards their 

 winter resorts as the season advances ; but the forests are so dense- 

 ly crowded with long weeds and grass, they are seldom seen till 

 about November, when it has partially decayed, and admits of a 

 view through the wood. 



"It feeds chiefly on the leaves of trees and shrubs ; of the former 

 the box and oak are the principal ones, of the latter, riwjall and 

 a shrub something like privet. It also eats roots, flowers, grubs, 

 and insects, acorns and seeds, and berries of various kinds, but in 

 a small proportion compared with leaves. In confinement it will 

 eat almost any kind of grain. Though the most solitary of our 

 Pheasants, and in its native forests perhaps the shyest, it is the 

 most easily reconciled to confinement ; even when caught old 

 they soon lose their timidity, eating readily out of the hand, 

 and little difficulty is experienced in rearing them. 



The Jewar roosts in trees, * and in winter, perhaps for 

 warmth, seems to prefer the low evergreens with closely interwoven 

 leaves and branches to the latter and larger which overshadow 

 them." 



Other species of Ceriornis are C. Ternminchii, Gray, from China, 

 figured Hardwicke's 111. Ind. Zool. ; and C. Caboti, Gould, also 

 from some part of China, figured by Gould, Birds of Asia, pt. X., 

 pl.l. 



Near these Pheasants I would place that somewhat anomalous 

 form, the Blood-pheasant, founded on a single known species. It 

 has more the habit, perhaps, of a Jungle-fowl than of a Pheasant, 

 but from its geographical relations with the Pheasants, only being 

 found at high elevations on the Himalayas, I prefer considering it 

 a peculiar form of Hill-pheasant, and it certainly has some, 

 affinities for the Pucras-pheasants. From its small size and 

 numerous spurs, it may be considered as holding the same relation- 

 ship to the Pheasants, as Pohipectron does to Pea-fowl, or as 

 Spur- fowl do to Jungle-fowl. It may be considered a sort of 



