xlvi 



INTRODUCTION 



merely by the pressure of the bird's body, and the eggs laid on the natural debris of 

 leaves and moss which happens to be there. Perhaps as part compensation for their 

 conspicuous size, terrestrial habits and abundance of enemies, pheasants deposit numerous 

 eggs. The actual extremes range from two to eighteen or twenty, with the average 

 seven or eight. The Tragopans are of interest in that the number seems quite certainly 

 determined by the location of the nest. When placed in a tree or in an elevated nesting- 

 box in an aviary, two is the usual clutch. In a ground nest, four or six may be de- 

 posited, but even here the tendency to division into couples is well marked, both by 

 colour, size, and a longer interval between the deposition. 



The members of the subfamily Argusianinae, comprising the Peacock Pheasants 

 and the Argus, are set off from all the other true pheasants by laying only two eggs, 

 although in captivity, in the case of the former birds, as many as seven clutches may 

 be induced by systematically removing the eggs. These are probably the wariest of 

 pheasants, and, indeed, they must need all the cunning of the feathered world to hold 

 their own with such a lessened chance of numerous offspring. The Cheer and the True 

 Pheasants lead in the matter of number of eggs, and correspondingly their life in the 

 open, often where trees affording safe perches are few and small, must greatly increase 

 the risks of death. 



As regards colour of egg, pheasants fall into the following classification — 



EGGS PLAIN 

 Kaleege and Silvers {Gennaeus) 

 Crestless Firebacks (Acomus) 

 Crested Firebacks {Lophura) 

 White-tailed Pheasants (Lobiophasis) 

 Red Junglefowl {Gallus gallus) 

 Javan Junglefowl {Gallus varius) 

 True Pheasants (Phasianus) 

 Long-tailed Pheasants {Syrmaticus) 

 Golden and Amherst {Chrysolophus) 

 Green Peafowl {Pavo muticus) 



EGGS MARKED 

 Blood Partridges {Ithagenes) 

 Tragopans {Tragopan) 

 Ceylon Junglefowl {Gallus lafayetti) 

 Koklass Pheasants {Pucrasia) 

 Argus Pheasants {Argusianus) 



EGGS SOMETIMES PLAIN, SOMETIMES MARKED 

 Eared-Pheasants {Crossoptilon) 

 Sonnerat's Junglefowl {Gallus sonnerati) 

 Cheer Pheasant {Catreus) 

 Indian Peafowl {Pavo cristatus) 



The uselessness of the egg markings for purposes of classification will be evident at 

 a glance, although in some groups of birds it is a valuable minor character of relation- 

 ship. Here, however, we find the Junglefowl and Peafowl both split up, and the Peacock 

 Pheasants separated from the Argus. Study of the shell structure has been equally 

 unsuccessful, the chief point of interest being the decided isolatedness of the Peafowl, 

 a fact evident in many other ways. Pheasants are conspicuous examples of birds which 

 lay white or whitish eggs in comparatively open nests. Yet, when we come actually to 

 examine the nests of wild pheasants, we find that seldom is one open to the sky. Almost 

 always they are shielded by arching grass or the foliage of some shrub, or at least shut 

 in on two sides by the rough bark of a fallen tree. Then, too, we realize that the pro- 

 tective coloration of pheasant hens is remarkably perfect and effective, and that they 

 are among the closest of sitters, so that the chances are well in favour of a passing 

 marauder missing the low-crouched, motionless form. And, again, very few unmarked 

 pheasant eggs are pure white. They are creamy-white or buff, or even olive-brown or 

 greenish, which among the varied hues of moss and forest debris, and the flickering 

 spots of sunlight sifting down through the foliage, are not unduly conspicuous. 



