xvi LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES 



Photogravures. HOME OF THE NORTHERN BLOOD PARTRIDGE Facing page 26 

 Photograph by William Beebe. 



An alpine feeding ground of Blood Partridges in the autumn. When the snow melts on the 

 Nanshan Mountains in north central China a dense growth of plants springs up, and in midsummer 

 these meadows are ablaze with colour. The Blood Partridges nest among the blossoms and pluck 

 the buds and scratch up the shallow-rooted plants for grubs. As autumn approaches, the petals 

 fall and the meadows become covered with a myriad seed cases, hard-seeded berries, and fluffy- 

 topped everlastings. Then the Partridges pass back and forth with their broods, brushing off the 

 filmy seeds, restless and ever ready at the first blackening frost to retreat to lower levels. 



HOME OF KUSER'S BLOOD PARTRIDGE 



In northern Yunnan, the winds from the snows find their way over the passes along narrow 

 paths. On either hand, rugged oaks and pines are able to keep a roothold, but in the sweep of the 

 icy blast nothing can grow but low, stunted bamboos and coarse grass. The Blood Partridges live 

 at these altitudes, roost among the trees, but find their food in the flower-dotted expanses of the 

 close-cropped upland meadows. 



Photogravure^ HIMALAYAN HOME OF THE SATYR TRAGOPAN Facingpage 52 

 Photograph by William Beebe. 



In early morning the swish of a lammergeier's wings is heard through the close-lying clouds, 

 and the croak of a Himalayan raven comes faintly. Then a Satyr Tragopan calls and the mist 

 sweeps from the valley. The snows are still hidden, but we see the slopes covered with a dense 

 forest of rhododendrons and magnolias. Through the day these birds feed among the underbrush, 

 and if they escape the eye of eagle and cat, and avoid the snares of the Nepalese shepherds, they 

 will roost at night in some safe perch, high above the dangers of the earth. 



Photogravure 5. BREEDING HAUNTS OF THE SATYR TRAGOPAN Facingpage 56 

 Photograph by William Beebe, 



When the Tragopan makes its nest it leaves the more open forested slopes and descends some 

 steep, cool ravine. Here the bamboo grows on either hand in ranks so dense that a man cannot 

 force his way through. The heart of the ravine is clear, the rushing torrents in early spring 

 having swept every growth away save moss and rock-clinging patches of grass. Here a trickle of 

 icy water tinkles its way downward to the river far below, and within sound of its drops the Satyr 

 hen lays her eggs. They are well hidden in the heart of the friendly bamboo and rhododendron 

 scrub. The silicious stems rise in serried rows in all directions, presenting a sheaf of spear-tips 

 to the soaring eagle, and the crackling of the dried fallen leaves reveals the approach of every 

 marauder. Only occasional Tibetans straggle along the distant trails, and the dull-hued hen sits 

 safely and finally leads forth her brood for their first drink in the depths of the rocky ravine. 



Photogravure 6. HAUNTS OF THE WESTERN TRAGOPAN . . Facingpage 72 



Photograph by William Beebe. 



Steep mountain sides of rugged, outjutting rocks, where only turf and saxifrage can find 

 roothold; more gentle slopes covered with sombre forests of deodars and silver firs; park-like 

 vistas of emerald lawns starred with hosts of strawberry blossoms ; such is the home of the 

 Western Tragopan. In the warm sunshine the chicks spread wide their plumage, and lying on 

 their sides lazily kick the dust over their little feathers. With the cool onrush of cloud shadow 

 ' they shake themselves and hastily preen their disarranged plumage. When the storm from the 

 Tibetan upland breaks, the little Tragopans scuttle for shelter beneath the ample wings of the 

 gentle grey mother. 



Photogravure 7. YUNNAN HOME OF TEMMINCK'S TRAGOPAN . Facingpage 94 

 Photograph by William Beebe. 



A cock Temminck's Tragopan was perched on the dead stub in the right-hand foreground 

 ten minutes before the picture was taken. It leaped down and I secured it among the everlastings 

 and bamboo stubble of the lower photograph. This was a typical Chinese wilderness devoid of 

 trails or evidence of mankind, while the vegetation was gnarled and seared by the blasts which 

 ever swept down from the snows. It was autumn, and the leaves and trunks were as colourless as 

 the overcast sky. Against this background the magnificent bird showed like a glowing coal. 



