xii LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES 



Photogravure (^t. ROOSTING- AND FEEDING-PLACES OF THE MALAY 



PEACOCK PHEASANT Fadngpage 80 



Photographs by William Beebe. 



Deep in the Pahang jungles, following devious trails and led by savages, half Malay, half 

 Sakai, I reached some wonderful limestone caverns. In the interstices pheasants roosted, and 

 at the entrance small hawks brought snail-shells from the jungle, which they broke and devoured. 

 Then followed flies and their maggots, and these in turn attracted the pheasants, which found 

 this a plentiful and ever-renewed feeding-ground. 



Photogravure 68. JUNGLE HOME OF THE MALAY OCELLATED 



PHEASANT Facing page 108 



Photograph by William Beebe. 



In one very deep, narrow gorge a cool rush of air for ever siphoned down from the highlands, 

 soughing through the vine-draped limbs of a mighty jungle tree which reared its head high above 

 the shadowed depths. From this place an Ocellated Pheasant called for six nights in succession, 

 the sound apparently coming from the hillside some distance up the slope, if not from the branches 

 of the great tree itself. 



Photogravure 69. HOME AND UNFINISHED ARENA OF THE MALAY 



OCELLATED PHEASANT .... Facing page no 



Photographs by William Beebe. 



Near the summit of a low rise in open jungle I found a small cleared space. This I discovered 

 was the dancing arena of an Ocellated Pheasant, which had evidently met with disaster, for its 

 bones and feathers were found near by. The clearing was a small one, probably the first attempt 

 of an immature bird, for it was not on quite level ground, and a woody plant growing within its 

 limits had resisted all attempts to uproot it. 



Photogravure 70. JUNGLE HOME AND DRINKING-PLACE OF THE MALAY 



ARGUS PHEASANT Fadngpage 118 



Photographs by Williant Beebe. 



In my houseboat on the Pahang River I penetrated to the haunts of the Argus Pheasant, 

 and at night, as I lay in my bunk, listened to their loud, persistent calling. It is a strong, 

 penetrating, single note, kweau 1 and reaches far through the jungle, summoning the female, 

 and doubtless at times inviting danger as well. It is possible to distinguish between the voices 

 of adult and immature birds, and even between those of individuals when these are heard night 

 after night. 



At sunset, just before the calling begins, the birds come down to drink from some pool near 

 the border of a stream. 



Photogravure 71. NESTING JUNGLE AND RECENTLY USED NEST OF THE 



MALAY ARGUS PHEASANT .... Facing page 124 



Photographs by William Beebe. 



The only nest I could discover was a deserted one well up on a mountain slope in Pahang. 

 There had been no attempt to collect materials, the eggs having been laid and hatched on the 

 debris of the jungle floor. The surrounding growth was palm and bamboo, and the bird had 

 worn a path to the nest through the thick underbrush, a trail which was even now perceptible, 

 although the broken shells of the two eggs had begun to sink into the mould. 

 [This Plate has been lettered "Malayan Ocellated Pheasant" in error.] 



Photogravure 72. BORNEO JUNGLE NEAR DANCING-PLACE OF ARGUS 



PHEASANT Fadngpage 134 



HEAD AND EGG OF BORNEAN ARGUS PHEASANT 

 Photographs by William Beebe. 



The dense Bornean jungle consists of tall, high-branching trees with thick undergrowth 

 beneath. Unless an opening is made by a wind break, or a glade cut by natives for planting, 

 the jungle is unbroken, and there is no way of locating these pheasants except by the direction 

 of their voices. 



The males are given an alert appearance by the upright, stiffened crest arising from the 

 top of the head. While they take such risks to summon their mates and to display before 

 them, the hens later go off by themselves, choose a nesting site, and lay and brood their two 

 white eggs in solitude. 



