NEPAL KALEEGE 27 
The crops of two of these pheasants contained the following food : 
Male: 3 flat seeds; 1 long stem of a fern ; many small leaves. 
Female: 20 termite workers; 1 large black ant; 1 small mollusk; 12 fruits of 
Eurya sp.; several unknown seeds and berries ; numbers of leaves. 
A female shot on May 31 would shortly have laid at least four eggs. 
Scully says that these kaleege are fond of thick forest and are “usually seen in 
pairs or in parties of from three to ten, often feeding on the ground near cultivated 
patches at the borders of forest.” 
“These birds seem very fond of perching on trees, and it is usually in this position 
that one comes across them in forcing one’s way through forest which has dense 
undergrowth. On such occasions the kaleege first gives notice of its whereabouts by 
whirring down with great velocity from its perch, and then running rapidly out of sight 
to the shelter of some thicket.- In the winter the birds roost on trees at the foot of the 
hills, and the plan for making a bag is to post oneself about sunset under some trees 
which they are known to frequent, and await their coming. The birds are then soon 
heard threading their way through the jungle towards their favourite trees, and at once 
fly up and perch. When once settled for the night in this way they are not easily 
alarmed, and I have shot four or five birds in quick succession before the rest of the 
party would clear out to quieter quarters. Occasionally, too, one can get a shot at the 
kaleege as they cross a hill-path through the forest on their way to or from some stream. 
“Great numbers of the Nepal Kaleege are snared and brought into Khatmandu for 
sale. The birds bear confinement in the valley very well, and I reared several chicks to 
maturity.” 
The subject of the validity of the Nepal Kaleege as a distinct species may be 
summed up in a few words. More than fifty-five years ago ornithologists were inclined 
to admit but a single kaleege. Later, two were allowed, and Blyth added another, but 
was convinced that the Nepal bird was a hybrid between the white-crested and 
black-backed kaleege. 
Now, however, that we have abundant material and more certain knowledge of the 
range of these birds, we can say with certainty that there are four well-defined species of 
kaleege extending along the southern slopes of the Himalayas and forming a linear 
series stretching from Kashmir to Burma, where the genus spreads out into the 
wonderfully interesting and puzzling series of wild hybrids marking the transition into 
the lineated kaleege and the silver pheasants. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
ApuLT Mare.—A long, hairy crest, as in the white-crested kaleege. Upper 
plumage in general black, with a strong metallic gloss. This is deep steel-blue on 
the crown, crest and neck, while the mantle, back and rump show considerable 
purple, and the wing-coverts and secondaries are predominately green. The shafts 
of the mantle and back are white. Mantle, scapulars, some of the tertiaries and 
long upper tail-coverts very slightly fringed with white, usually in the form of a 
scanty mottling. This increases on the back and rump, where it forms a solid fringe 
of white, about one-half as wide as in G. albocristatus. 
