﻿' 
  60 
  A 
  MONOGRAPH 
  OF 
  THE 
  PHEASANTS 
  

  

  Neither 
  did 
  I 
  observe 
  that 
  the 
  birds 
  ceased 
  wholly 
  to 
  feed 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  

   the 
  day, 
  although 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  days 
  which 
  I 
  spent 
  in 
  this 
  region 
  were 
  partly 
  or 
  wholly 
  

   cloudy, 
  and 
  this 
  may 
  have 
  had 
  something 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  the 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  uninterrupted 
  

   diurnal 
  activity 
  of 
  the 
  pheasants. 
  When 
  the 
  sun 
  shone 
  with 
  unusual 
  vigour, 
  I 
  have 
  

   seen 
  a 
  hen 
  Cheer 
  go 
  to 
  a 
  bit 
  of 
  old 
  dug-over 
  ground 
  and 
  give 
  herself 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  

   pleasure 
  of 
  a 
  thorough 
  dust-bath, 
  working 
  sideways, 
  downward 
  and 
  scooping 
  the 
  dust 
  

   over 
  her 
  body 
  with 
  one 
  wing, 
  exactly 
  as 
  a 
  barn-yard 
  fowl 
  would 
  do. 
  She 
  never, 
  

   however, 
  relaxed 
  her 
  vigilance 
  for 
  a 
  moment, 
  and 
  even 
  when 
  apparently 
  wholly 
  

   absorbed 
  in 
  her 
  wriggling 
  and 
  spasmodic 
  stirring 
  up 
  of 
  the 
  dust, 
  without 
  warning 
  

   she 
  would 
  rise 
  up 
  and 
  stand 
  with 
  concentrated 
  eyes 
  and 
  ears 
  until 
  the 
  suspicion 
  

   of 
  danger 
  passed. 
  Not 
  until 
  then 
  would 
  she 
  shake 
  or 
  settle 
  her 
  ruffled 
  plumage 
  and 
  

   return 
  to 
  her 
  occupation. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  never 
  seen 
  a 
  Cheer 
  take 
  to 
  a 
  tree 
  to 
  roost 
  nor 
  even 
  to 
  a 
  low 
  bush, 
  but 
  have 
  

   seen 
  a 
  bird 
  squat 
  closely 
  under 
  a 
  tuft 
  of 
  grass 
  in 
  full 
  view 
  of 
  my 
  observation 
  tent, 
  

   and 
  have 
  been 
  certain, 
  at 
  least 
  until 
  the 
  last 
  tinge 
  of 
  afterglow 
  faded 
  and 
  the 
  night 
  had 
  

   closed 
  down, 
  that 
  the 
  pheasant 
  was 
  still 
  there. 
  

  

  The 
  Cheer 
  does 
  not 
  come 
  into 
  very 
  close 
  touch 
  with 
  any 
  other 
  pheasants, 
  although 
  

   I 
  have 
  watched 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  birds 
  in 
  early 
  morning, 
  and 
  have 
  known 
  by 
  sight 
  or 
  hearing 
  

   that 
  impeyan, 
  tragopan 
  and 
  koklass 
  were 
  within 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  a 
  mile. 
  But 
  I 
  have 
  never 
  

   actually 
  seen 
  the 
  birds 
  together 
  on 
  the 
  same 
  slope. 
  The 
  koklass 
  keep 
  pretty 
  

   consistently 
  to 
  the 
  forest 
  cover 
  and 
  the 
  impeyans 
  haunt 
  the 
  open 
  spaces 
  several 
  

   thousand 
  feet 
  higher. 
  In 
  all 
  my 
  many 
  days 
  of 
  intensive 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  Cheer 
  I 
  saw 
  

   no 
  direct 
  tragedy, 
  though 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  any 
  large 
  raptore 
  sent 
  the 
  birds 
  to 
  shelter 
  

   like 
  a 
  flash. 
  In 
  fact 
  they 
  always 
  discovered 
  the 
  eagle 
  or 
  hawk 
  long 
  before 
  I 
  did, 
  

   and 
  it 
  was 
  always 
  some 
  time 
  after 
  they 
  had 
  vanished 
  that, 
  through 
  the 
  ventilation 
  

   wires 
  of 
  my 
  observation 
  tent, 
  I 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  follow 
  their 
  glances 
  upward 
  to 
  the 
  dreaded 
  

   speck 
  high 
  in 
  the 
  blue 
  sky. 
  Living 
  their 
  lives 
  thus 
  in 
  the 
  open, 
  they 
  were 
  past 
  masters 
  

   in 
  the 
  matter 
  of 
  discrimination 
  of 
  dangerous 
  from 
  harmless 
  raptores, 
  and, 
  unlike 
  some 
  

   forest 
  or 
  jungle-haunting 
  pheasants, 
  I 
  have 
  never 
  known 
  them 
  to 
  pay 
  more 
  attention 
  

   than 
  a 
  quick, 
  careful 
  scrutiny 
  to 
  any 
  vulture 
  which 
  happened 
  to 
  soar 
  suddenly 
  into 
  view. 
  

  

  Near 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  a 
  deodar 
  forest 
  I 
  saw 
  a 
  big 
  langur 
  monkey 
  one 
  day 
  galloping 
  

   along 
  on 
  three 
  legs, 
  with 
  a 
  large 
  trailing 
  object 
  held 
  close 
  to 
  his 
  body 
  in 
  one 
  of 
  his 
  

   fore-arms. 
  A 
  glance 
  through 
  the 
  glasses 
  showed 
  this 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  dead, 
  bedraggled 
  Cheer 
  

   Pheasant. 
  Although 
  my 
  experience 
  and 
  that 
  of 
  others 
  has 
  shown 
  that 
  one 
  may 
  

   approach 
  very 
  closely 
  to 
  these 
  birds, 
  so 
  complete 
  is 
  their 
  trust 
  in 
  their 
  concealing 
  

   garb, 
  and 
  Wilson 
  relates 
  the 
  almost 
  incredible 
  fact 
  of 
  being 
  able 
  to 
  pick 
  a 
  Cheer 
  up 
  

   in 
  the 
  hand, 
  yet 
  I 
  doubt 
  much 
  whether 
  these 
  birds 
  would 
  ever 
  permit 
  themselves 
  

   to 
  be 
  caught 
  by 
  a 
  langur. 
  This 
  bird 
  was 
  very 
  probably 
  wounded 
  or 
  dead 
  when 
  found 
  

   by 
  the 
  monkey. 
  There 
  is 
  small 
  doubt, 
  however, 
  that 
  such 
  animals 
  work 
  havoc 
  among 
  

   eggs 
  and 
  chicks, 
  and 
  a 
  black 
  eagle 
  has 
  been 
  shot 
  with 
  the 
  inside 
  of 
  the 
  mouth 
  and 
  

   throat 
  covered 
  with 
  small 
  pieces 
  of 
  egg-shell, 
  probably 
  of 
  this 
  pheasant. 
  I 
  can 
  say 
  

   nothing 
  further 
  with 
  certainty 
  of 
  the 
  enemies 
  of 
  the 
  Cheer, 
  but 
  on 
  excellent 
  authority 
  

   (B. 
  B. 
  Osmoston) 
  I 
  am 
  told 
  that 
  chief 
  among 
  these 
  are 
  the 
  Indian 
  marten, 
  the 
  

   leopard-cat, 
  the 
  Nepal 
  hawk-eagle, 
  the 
  crestless 
  hawk-eagle 
  and 
  the 
  jungle 
  crow, 
  

   the 
  latter, 
  of 
  course, 
  taking 
  the 
  eggs 
  and 
  young 
  chicks 
  only. 
  

  

  