LIST OF COLOURED PLATES 1X 
Puate XXXIII. MALAYAN CRESTLESS FIREBACK <Acomus erythrophthalmus 
(Raffles) . : : : . ; : : Facing page 102 
Painted by G. E. Lodge. 
These birds are exceedingly pugnacious, and I have even seen hens fighting madly with 
each other. Both sexes are armed with spurs. They live along the small creeks which wind 
through the low jungle, and haunt the water-holes of the buffalo. The sound of warning or 
challenge, uttered when two cocks threaten one another, is a deep, hoarse drawl, almost a snarl, 
sounding as much like a small cat as a pheasant. 
Pirate XXXIV. BORNEAN CRESTLESS FIREBACK Acomus pyronotus (Gray) 
} Painted by G. E. Lodge. facing page 108 
Low, wet jungle along the coast of Borneo is the home of this bird. I have seen a pair 
feeding beneath a berry tree, upon the fallen fruit, together with the insects which have collected. 
A small bird called out in alarm at the sight of some danger, and both birds squatted flat 
among the begonias.. A scale-bird sang, and confidence was at once restored. A few minutes 
later a great branch crashed to the ground, but the birds hardly glanced up, so perfectly did 
they judge between actual danger and a harmless jungle happening. 
Prats XXXV. SIAMESE CRESTED FIREBACK Lophura diardt (Temminck) 
Painted by G. E. Lodge. Facing page 116 
Sportsmen in Siam who sit up on the look-out for tigers, sometimes see this magnificent 
bird step out from the jungle and walk slowly past, its fiery golden back flashing even in 
moonlight. It lives in dense bamboo thickets, and comes into more open jungle, often near the 
. banks of a river, to feed and drink. It is as easy to trap as it is difficult to observe, and the 
Siamese bring many to the Bangkok market. 
PratE XXXVI. PLUMAGES OF THE BORNEAN AND SIAMESE CRESTED 
FIREBACKS Lofphura ignita and Lophura diardi . . Facing page 120 
Drawn by H, Grinvold 
Fig. 1. Chick of Bornean Crested Fireback, Lophura ignita. 
Figs, 2. and 3. Bornean Crested Fireback, Lophura tgnita. 
Juvenile plumage of the female (2), and male (3). 
Fig. 4. Siamese Fireback, Lophura diardz. 
Transition plumage between juvenile and first year, showing sequence and nodes of moults 
and the unusual pattern complexity of the immature wing-feathers. 
PratE XXXVII. MALAYAN CRESTED FIREBACK Lophura rufa (Raffles) 
Painted by G. E. Lodge. Facing page 122 
A single glimpse of these birds after many hours of nerve-racking search is the usual 
reward. They are very shy and for ever on the alert for the slight crack or rustle of twig or 
leaf, but their beauty is worth the longest stalk and the most wearisome wait. They are found 
in pairs or in small families, and when alarmed go off with a headlong rush through the under- 
brush in preference to attempting flight. 
PratE XXXVIII. BORNEAN CRESTED FIREBACK Lofhura ignita (Shaw) 
Painted by CRE night, facing page 128 
This splendid bird chooses to live in low, swampy jungle, coming out to feed in the small, 
shaded glades. In one such place, embowered with green and decorated with great elkhorn 
ferns, a family of Firebacks spent many weeks. Although not far from a native Dyak house, 
yet it was also close to a burial-ground, and the fear of evil spirits gave safety to the birds. 
When standing quietly, the colours of the Fireback cocks merge with the hues of the 
jungle, but at the slightest movement the glittering back detaches itself from the spots of sun- 
light, and the blue-black body from the dark shadows, and the bird stands out in its full glory. 
