﻿COMMON 
  KOKLASS 
  PHEASANT 
  15 
  

  

  upward 
  we 
  find 
  a 
  gradually 
  retarded 
  period 
  until 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  June 
  sees 
  the 
  last 
  laying 
  

   on 
  the 
  upper 
  slopes. 
  The 
  second 
  and 
  third 
  weeks 
  of 
  May 
  mark 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  the 
  

   season 
  when 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  Koklass 
  begin 
  to 
  sit. 
  

  

  As 
  we 
  have 
  observed, 
  Koklass 
  are 
  strictly 
  monogamous, 
  and 
  the 
  cock 
  apparently 
  

   does 
  not 
  go 
  far 
  from 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  the 
  nest 
  during 
  the 
  weeks 
  of 
  incubation. 
  At 
  least 
  

   in 
  several 
  instances, 
  I 
  found 
  them 
  morning, 
  noon 
  and 
  evening 
  always 
  within 
  a 
  hundred 
  

   yards, 
  and 
  frequently 
  closer 
  to 
  their 
  patient 
  mates. 
  One 
  would 
  never 
  know 
  from 
  their 
  

   actions 
  that 
  a 
  nest 
  and 
  mate 
  were 
  near. 
  They 
  are 
  very 
  wary, 
  and 
  when 
  disturbed 
  

   invariably 
  give 
  utterance 
  to 
  some 
  sound, 
  either 
  of 
  suspicion 
  or 
  fear, 
  apparently 
  for 
  the 
  

   benefit 
  of 
  the 
  sitting 
  bird. 
  At 
  other 
  times 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  this 
  is 
  not 
  always 
  the 
  case, 
  and 
  

   they 
  may 
  be 
  flushed 
  without 
  uttering 
  a 
  note. 
  The 
  cock 
  joins 
  the 
  hen 
  and 
  her 
  chicks 
  

   when 
  these 
  are 
  hatched, 
  and 
  assumes 
  his 
  full 
  share 
  of 
  duty 
  in 
  caring 
  for 
  them. 
  

  

  The 
  choice 
  of 
  a 
  site 
  is 
  rather 
  varied. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  in 
  the 
  very 
  heart 
  of 
  a 
  patch 
  of 
  

   low 
  undergrowth, 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  shelter 
  of 
  a 
  mossy 
  boulder 
  or 
  close 
  to 
  a 
  tree-trunk. 
  I 
  have 
  

   seen 
  them 
  with 
  only 
  fifteen-inch 
  grass 
  to 
  shelter 
  them 
  from 
  the 
  open 
  sky, 
  although 
  the 
  

   grasses 
  were 
  somewhat 
  arched 
  over 
  the 
  sitting 
  bird. 
  I 
  have 
  never 
  seen 
  any 
  evidence 
  

   of 
  an 
  actual 
  hole 
  scratched 
  in 
  the 
  ground, 
  as 
  is 
  mentioned 
  by 
  several 
  observers. 
  The 
  

   nests 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  were 
  depressions 
  in 
  the 
  turf 
  made 
  only 
  by 
  the 
  weight 
  and 
  constant 
  

   shifting 
  of 
  the 
  bird's 
  body. 
  In 
  one 
  instance 
  where 
  the 
  nest 
  was 
  on 
  a 
  slope, 
  the 
  depres- 
  

   sion 
  was 
  so 
  shallow 
  that 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  had 
  rolled 
  a 
  foot 
  away, 
  and 
  the 
  embryo 
  was 
  

   dead. 
  The 
  only 
  lining 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  grass, 
  leaves 
  or 
  moss 
  which 
  were 
  on 
  the 
  spot 
  

   when 
  the 
  bird 
  began 
  to 
  lay. 
  These 
  soon 
  die 
  and 
  become 
  pressed 
  down 
  into 
  the 
  form. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  found 
  two, 
  six 
  and 
  seven 
  eggs, 
  the 
  former 
  an 
  unfinished 
  set. 
  Nine 
  is 
  the 
  

   largest 
  recorded 
  number, 
  and 
  seven 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  average. 
  The 
  eggs 
  are 
  of 
  a 
  regular 
  

   oval 
  and 
  quite 
  glossy. 
  The 
  ground-colour 
  is 
  a 
  rich 
  creamy 
  buff 
  and 
  does 
  not 
  exhibit 
  

   very 
  much 
  variation, 
  sometimes 
  being 
  a 
  little 
  darker 
  than 
  usual. 
  The 
  markings, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  vary 
  to 
  a 
  very 
  great 
  degree, 
  although 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  find 
  any 
  division 
  into 
  the 
  two 
  

   general 
  types 
  of 
  which 
  Hume 
  writes. 
  Between 
  the 
  two 
  extremes 
  all 
  intermediate 
  

   phases 
  of 
  marking 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  found. 
  The 
  eggs 
  from 
  any 
  one 
  bird 
  are 
  usually 
  quite 
  

   similar, 
  however, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  observed 
  in 
  captive 
  birds 
  of 
  another 
  species 
  kept 
  in 
  

   China 
  that 
  this 
  correlation 
  between 
  an 
  individual 
  and 
  a 
  certain 
  pattern 
  of 
  egg 
  persists 
  

   year 
  after 
  year, 
  even 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  changed 
  food 
  and 
  aviary. 
  

  

  Against 
  the 
  creamy 
  buff 
  background 
  are 
  handsome 
  dots 
  and 
  blotches 
  of 
  a 
  deep 
  

   reddish 
  or 
  chocolate 
  brown, 
  which 
  in 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  spots 
  is 
  almost 
  black. 
  

   One 
  extreme 
  of 
  marking 
  occurs 
  where 
  the 
  reddish 
  pigment 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  small 
  dots 
  

   no 
  larger 
  than 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  a 
  pin, 
  and 
  so 
  thickly 
  and 
  evenly 
  covering 
  the 
  whole 
  surface 
  

   of 
  the 
  shell 
  that 
  the 
  spaces 
  between 
  the 
  dots 
  are 
  no 
  larger 
  than 
  the 
  dots 
  themselves. 
  

   This 
  is 
  rather 
  rare. 
  The 
  other 
  extreme 
  is 
  where 
  the 
  pigment 
  has 
  run 
  together 
  into 
  a 
  

   few 
  irregular 
  spots 
  and 
  blotches, 
  with 
  the 
  remainder 
  of 
  the 
  shell 
  almost 
  unmarked. 
  

   The 
  finer-marked 
  shells 
  look 
  like 
  diminutive 
  turkey 
  or 
  impeyan 
  eggs. 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  good 
  

   deal 
  of 
  variation 
  in 
  size, 
  the 
  length 
  varying 
  from 
  47 
  to 
  57 
  mm., 
  and 
  the 
  breadth 
  from 
  

   35 
  to 
  40 
  mm. 
  The 
  average 
  egg 
  is 
  about 
  52 
  x 
  37 
  mm. 
  

  

  The 
  Chinese 
  species 
  of 
  Koklass 
  have 
  been 
  more 
  often 
  kept 
  in 
  captivity 
  than 
  the 
  

   Himalayan 
  ones, 
  but 
  all 
  are 
  very 
  rarely 
  brought 
  out 
  of 
  Asia 
  alive, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  seldom 
  

   that 
  a 
  living 
  specimen 
  can 
  be 
  secured. 
  No 
  living 
  Koklass 
  has 
  ever 
  been 
  brought 
  to 
  

  

  