16 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 
the midst of some thicket or coppice at any hour of the day, but is not of very 
frequent occurrence. It is generally uttered when the bird rises, and if it flies into 
a tree near, often continued some time. When flushed by a wild cat or other small 
animal, this chuckling is always loud and earnest.” Again we read that “the call 
of the bird, which may be heard at all times of the day, is a sharp fwut! twut ! 
twut! sometimes very low, with a long pause between each note, then suddenly 
increasing loudly and excitedly. Generally speaking, when uttering this cry, which 
at times might be mistaken by any one unacquainted with it for that of some small 
bird, the kaleege is alarmed by a prowling marten, or a hawk hovering overhead, 
perhaps a dog, but still oftener it is heard when a pair of cocks are about to 
engage in mortal combat.” The call of the younger birds is noticeably harsher, less 
sibilant than that of the adult pheasants. Aside from the vocal utterances uttered 
under stress of excitement or fear, the kaleege is rather a silent bird. 
The present genus is characterized by a kind of instrumental music, closely 
akin to the drumming of the American ruffed grouse, but this whirring, produced 
by the rapid vibration of the wings, is chiefly of the nature of a challenge, so that 
I shall treat of it more in detail under the notes on courtship and fighting. 
The food, as far as I could ascertain, is obtained only upon the ground. A 
very reliable observer, however, reports that he has twice seen them perched in 
bushes, feeding upon berries. Unlike the Impeyan, the pheasants of this genus are 
essentially scratchers, and, like the common fowl, dig vigorously first with one, then 
the other foot, sending the earth flying, and in productive spots the kaleege dig 
hollows of considerable depth and extent. Their food has been rather indefinitely 
and comprehensively stated to consist of grubs, roots, insects, seeds, berries, leaves, 
acorns, soft roots and the young shoots of shrubs. 
In Garhwal, in the month of May, I found these White-crested Kaleege feeding 
chiefly upon small moths of several species. A gvotis consanguinea Moore, was by 
far the commonest species, together with several small Geometridae. The following 
is a detailed summary of the food of four pheasants, shot on different days and in 
different places, but within a radius of twenty miles. 
1.—é Shot 9.30 am. Crop empty; gizzard contained a comminuted mass of food, 
including an earwig, a small centipede, many small bits of moss and 
numerous young fern-shoots. 
2.—$ Shot 6 p.m. Crop full, contained 1 spider, 3 small centipedes, 1 moth, 2 
small beetles—a Tenebrionid of the tribe Aelofini, and an Elater—2o 
small snails of several species (Vanina glauca Benson, Nanina percotteti 
Pfr., Cyclotus strangulatum Tutton); 11 green leaves of Savrcococca 
pruniformis,; 1 dead leaf, 3 roots and a large leaf-stalk of a fern, probably 
an <A spidium,; 30 three-cornered brown seeds of some conifer; 12 pea-like 
seeds; 18 white Daphne blossoms; several leaves of a Smilax; 1 large 
leaf and many round brown fruits of a Vitis; besides a mass of com- 
minuted vegetable matter. The gizzard contained similar food, much 
comminuted. 
3-—8 Shot 4.30 p.m. Crop contained 38 moths—(all but one were Agvotis consan- 
