LIST OF COLOURED PLATES, PHOTOGRAVURES 



AND MAPS 



COLOURED PLATES 



Plate I. KUSER'S BLOOD PARTRIDGE (//%wj/5wm Beebe) • . Frvntispiece 



Painted by A. Thorburn, after G. E. Lodge. 



In the late afternoon, a small flock was working its way down a mountain slope to some 

 sheltered roosting place at a lower elevation. An unseasonable snowstorm, falling on the tumbled 

 uplands of northern Yunnan, had half covered the Chinese primroses which were blossoming in 

 dense clusters. The dead grass of last year and newly budding dwarf bamboos were visible, and 

 in a hollow some weatherbeaten conifers had found a foothold near the upper limit of tree-growth. 

 When darkness fell the Blood Partridges, perched deep in the tangle of a rhododendron thicket, 

 would be safe from foxes and martens. 



Plate II. EGGS OF BLOOD PARTRIDGES, TRAGOPANS, IMPEYANS AND 



EARED-PHEASANTS Facing page xliv 



Drawn by H. Gronvold. 



1. Two eggs of Geoffroy's Blood Partridge {Ithagenes geotfroyi), Tachienlu, Western China, 



collected by Mr. Pratt. 



2. Egg of Kuser's Blood Partridge {Ithagenes kuseri). 



3. Two eggs of Satyr Tragopan {Tragopan satyra), laid in captivity. 



4. Two eggs of Cabot's Tragopan {Tragopan caboti). The left-hand one collected in Kuatun, 



China, May 17, 1878, by J. D. D. la Touche ; the right-hand one laid in captivity in 

 Yorkshire, England. 



5. Egg of Western Tragopan {Tragopan melanocepkalus), laid in captivity. 



6. Egg of Blyth's Tragopan {Tragopan blythi blythi), laid in Assam in captivity, by a bird from 



the North Cachar Hills. 



7. Two eggs of Temminck's Tragopan {Tragopan temmincki), from "China." 



8. Egg of Brown Eared-Pheasant {Crossoptilon mantchuricum), laid in captivity in the Zoological 



Gardens, London. 



9. Three eggs of Impeyan Pheasant {Lophophorus impeyanus), all from northern India ; the 



centre one collected at Lookel, June 1, 1874. 



10. Egg of White Eared-Pheasant '{Crossoptilon tibetanum), collected by Mr. Pratt, near Ta- 



chienlu, May 1890. 



11. Egg of Blue Eared-Pheasant {Crossoptilon auritum), laid in captivity. 



All from the British Museum Collection, except Nos. 2, 5 and 6, which are from that of 

 Mr. Stuart-Baker. 



Plate III. SIKHIM HIMALAYAN BLOOD PARTRIDGE {Ithagenes cruentus 



affinis Beebe) ........ . Facing page 6 



Painted by G. E. Lodge, 



Blood Partridges keep close to the edge of the melting snow, gradually ascending in the spring 

 and summer. But in the high altitudes of the Sikhim mountains, late spring storms often cover 

 every growing plant deep in snow. To obtain food the Blood Partridges are obliged at once to 

 retreat far down the valleys to where the warmth has turned the snow to rain. Occasionally the 

 birds are able to remain storm-bound and yet find food. This occurs when the insects, caught 

 suddenly unawares, retreat in numbers to pass a few days benumbed with the cold in the seed cases 

 of last year's lilies. Some of these are empty, others partly filled with seeds, and here earwigs, 

 beetles, moths and spiders find a temporary haven. And this haven at least one flock of Blood 

 Partridges discovered and ruthlessly rifled, spilling insects and seeds upon the snow and feeding to 

 its heart's content. 



