PLATE X 



WESTERN TRAGOPAN 

 Tragopan melanocephalus (Gray) 



In the mountain forests of the Western Himalayas lives this great bird, its black and crimson plumage 

 covered with a shower of silvery stars. Its cry echoes through the gorges of Kashmir and the tumbled 

 masses of mountainous Garhwal. A dozen are sometimes found together, and throughout the winter they 

 keep within calling distance of one another. They are fond of the buds of trees, and thus can find 

 sustenance even when the ground is covered deep with snow. 



