24 GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 



with glossy metallic green. In the second year, they are stated to 

 assume the adult plumage, with the curious exception, according 

 to Mountaineer, of the 7th primary which retains the brown for 

 another year. 



This splendid Pheasant is found throughout the whole extent 

 of the Himalayas, from the hills bordering Affghanistan as far east 

 as Sikim, and probably also to Bootan. It occurs from a level of 

 6,000 or 7,000 feet in winter, to the limits of the wooded regions, 

 and is most numerous at high altitudes, and in the interior of the 

 hills. In Sikim it is not found at a lower level than 10,000 

 feet, and has not been found in British territory, but in the in- 

 terior, at high elevations, it is not very rare, though apparently 

 not so common as in the N. W. Himalayas. For an admirable 

 and full account of its habits, I take the liberty of transcribing 

 a great portion of Mountaineer's remarks in the Bengal Sporting 

 Review, New Series, vol. 



" The Monaul is found on almost every hill of any elevation, from 

 the first great ridge above the plains to the limits of the wooded 

 district, and in the interior it is the most numerous of the game birds. 

 When the hills near Mussooree were first visited by Euro- 

 peans, it was found to be common there, and a few may still be 

 seen on the same ridge eastwards from Landour. In summer, 

 when the rank vegetation which springs up in the forest renders it 

 impossible to see many yards around, few are to be met with, 

 except near the summits of the great ridges jutting from the snow, 

 where in the morning and evening, when they come out to feed, 

 they may be seen in the open glades of the forest and on the 

 green slopes above. At that time no one would imagine they were 

 half so numerous as they really are ; but as the cold season ap- 

 proaches, and the rank grass and herbage decay, they begin 

 to collect together, the wood seems full of them, and in some 

 places hundreds may be put up in a day's work. In summer 

 the greater number of the males and some of the females 

 ascend to near the limits of the forests where the hills attain a 

 great elevation, and may often be seen on the grassy slopes a 

 considerable distance above. In autumn they resort to those 

 parts of the forests where the ground is thickly covered with 



