218 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 
of four to six years. One observer writes me that the x//oo shrub seeds only once in 
eleven years, after which it dies down. But this happens in the various districts in 
different years, hence the possibility of the seed being found ripe at much shorter 
intervals of time. Whenever this takes place, there is a widespread migration of the 
birds. They begin to ascend in December, January, and February, and disappear from 
the hill jungles about June. 
A very general idea obtains in Ceylon that this fruit has the effect of stupefying the 
birds. A probable explanation is the excessive fattening effect of the w2//oo, the birds, 
after feeding for some time, becoming veritable feathered balls of obesity. This, in 
many cases, would result in the effect described of the birds becoming sluggish and 
inert. It is true that the Junglefowl in the Horton Plains and about Nuwara Elliya do 
become affected, and are sometimes so fat or intoxicated, as the case may be, that they 
may be knocked down with a stick. One writer tells of several cock Junglefowl, 
apparently in perfect health, skulking under a bush at one’s approach and allowing 
themselves to be caught in the hand. The bronze-winged doves, which are as fond of 
the zz/loo as are the Junglefowl, never show any similar symptoms. Botanists know of 
no narcotic properties of this plant, however, and it may be that the birds eat some 
noxious fungus or other vegetable growth in the woods where the wz//oo thrives. The 
Singhalese also believe that the eating of these berries at this season causes blindness 
among the Junglefowl. ‘About that season of the year,” says Bligh, “if village fowls 
be brought to the hills they rarely escape a serious eye disease, which rapidly spreads 
through a given district, and in many cases they become totally blind in two or three 
weeks. This is the disease which the Junglefowl evidently catch. A dog of mine 
caught a Junglecock with one eye lost, and apparently from this cause.” 
The feeding habits of the birds are the surest indications of their presence, when no 
vocal utterance gives us a hint of their proximity. This may be purely circumstantial, 
as their tracks and evidences of scratching along roads or about the nests of white ants, 
or it may be the actual noise of this latter habit. In the dryer north-eastern forests and 
the semi-arid coastal regions, the fallen leaves do not decay as soon as in the humid 
jungles, and among these, harbouring a multitude of insects and seeds, the birds scratch 
vigorously in the same manner as the domestic fowl. The crackling and rustling 
of the leaves may be heard at some distance, and forms a very easy way of locating 
the birds. This by no means, however, ensures an approach within sight, for after 
every effort which they make, the birds listen intently, and are able to detect the very 
slightest noise. Many times, after the most careful stalk, I have utterly failed to catch 
even a glimpse of the bird. Occasionally, aided by an intervening mound and shield of 
leaves, one is able to watch the author of the noise, as, first with one foot, then the 
other, he sends leaves and déérzs flying. 
This feeding begins in the early morning and continues until the heat begins to be 
oppressive. The birds then retire to the shade of some dense-foliaged tree or under- 
growth, and either dust themselves, or doze, or strive to rid themselves of ticks and 
other parasites. This latter is a very important operation, as I shall have occasion later 
on to show. 
The jungle and the coastal semi-desert regions swarm with hostile creatures, eager 
for prey such as the Junglefowl, but most of these are nocturnal. So before dusk has 
