﻿1 
  86 
  A 
  MONOGRAPH 
  OF 
  THE 
  PHEASANTS 
  

  

  These 
  pheasants 
  require 
  considerable 
  elevation, 
  and 
  seldom 
  wander 
  downward 
  to 
  

   anywhere 
  near 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  plains. 
  They 
  delight 
  in 
  hillsides, 
  and, 
  like 
  so 
  many 
  of 
  

   their 
  family, 
  prefer 
  to 
  trust 
  to 
  legs 
  rather 
  than 
  wings 
  for 
  escape. 
  At 
  about 
  four 
  thousand 
  

   feet 
  I 
  found 
  them 
  in 
  a 
  diversified 
  country, 
  with 
  pines 
  rather 
  abundant, 
  alternating 
  with 
  

   scrub 
  bamboo, 
  or 
  at 
  lower 
  elevations 
  with 
  this 
  latter 
  type 
  of 
  vegetation 
  growing 
  to 
  a 
  

   height 
  of 
  ten 
  and 
  twelve 
  feet. 
  In 
  one 
  locality 
  I 
  heard 
  their 
  rather 
  harsh 
  crow 
  regularly 
  

   morning 
  and 
  evening, 
  but 
  the 
  thick 
  underbush 
  with 
  its 
  carpet 
  of 
  dry 
  leaves 
  proved 
  

   an 
  impassable 
  barrier 
  to 
  close 
  approach. 
  Even 
  when 
  I 
  could 
  locate 
  the 
  pheasants 
  

   within 
  reasonably 
  narrow 
  limits, 
  and 
  flank 
  them 
  by 
  sending 
  around 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  

   natives 
  on 
  the 
  farther 
  side, 
  I 
  would 
  catch 
  only 
  a 
  fleeting 
  glimpse 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  as 
  they 
  

   dashed 
  by. 
  

  

  The 
  natives 
  do 
  not 
  catch 
  them 
  in 
  their 
  long 
  lines 
  of 
  dead-falls 
  as 
  frequently 
  as 
  

   other 
  pheasants, 
  and 
  say 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  because 
  when 
  their 
  suspicions 
  are 
  aroused, 
  instead 
  

   of 
  dashing 
  through 
  the 
  nearest 
  opening, 
  they 
  frequently 
  fly 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  lower 
  branches 
  of 
  

   a 
  tree, 
  and 
  when 
  their 
  fear 
  has 
  passed 
  and 
  they 
  descend, 
  their 
  flight 
  is 
  downhill, 
  and 
  

   hence 
  over 
  instead 
  of 
  through 
  the 
  deadly 
  bamboo 
  fence. 
  

  

  I 
  found 
  the 
  birds 
  feeding 
  on 
  seeds 
  and 
  berries, 
  with 
  only 
  slight 
  traces 
  of 
  animal 
  

   diet, 
  chiefly 
  earthworms, 
  the 
  tiny 
  red 
  type 
  which 
  is 
  so 
  abundant 
  in 
  many 
  parts 
  of 
  

   Burma. 
  In 
  country 
  which 
  was 
  rather 
  heavily 
  forested 
  the 
  Burmese 
  Pheasants 
  seem 
  

   to 
  feed 
  on 
  and 
  off 
  throughout 
  the 
  day, 
  but 
  on 
  more 
  open 
  slopes 
  they 
  come 
  out 
  only 
  in 
  

   early 
  morning 
  and 
  near 
  sundown. 
  The 
  birds 
  were 
  in 
  pairs, 
  or 
  the 
  males 
  alone. 
  I 
  saw 
  

   no 
  trios, 
  nor 
  indeed 
  any 
  hint 
  of 
  polygamy, 
  though 
  this 
  is 
  merely 
  negative 
  evidence. 
  

   The 
  complexity 
  of 
  the 
  wing-barring 
  and 
  other 
  plumage 
  characters 
  are 
  hardly 
  noticeable 
  

   in 
  the 
  wild 
  birds, 
  the 
  general 
  effect 
  being 
  of 
  a 
  blue-headed, 
  wine-coloured 
  bird 
  marked 
  

   with 
  irregular 
  white 
  patches. 
  The 
  flight 
  seems 
  less 
  rapid 
  and 
  more 
  deliberate 
  than 
  that 
  

   of 
  most 
  pheasants, 
  the 
  bird 
  choosing 
  its 
  way 
  as 
  its 
  descends 
  the 
  hillside, 
  and 
  not 
  hurling 
  

   itself 
  heedlessly 
  from 
  summit 
  to 
  valley. 
  

  

  The 
  details 
  of 
  the 
  daily 
  life 
  of 
  these 
  pheasants 
  are 
  hardly 
  to 
  be 
  learned 
  by 
  a 
  heavy- 
  

   footed 
  human 
  being 
  without 
  many 
  months 
  of 
  patient 
  watching. 
  One 
  cannot 
  stalk 
  them 
  

   in 
  dry-leaved 
  country, 
  but 
  must 
  resort 
  to 
  umbrella 
  tents 
  or 
  tree 
  platforms, 
  and 
  the 
  

   difficulty 
  with 
  these 
  methods 
  is 
  the 
  uncertainty 
  of 
  the 
  movements 
  of 
  these 
  birds. 
  They 
  

   are 
  very 
  unlike 
  the 
  kaleege 
  in 
  the 
  methodicalness 
  of 
  their 
  daily 
  excursions, 
  and 
  while 
  

   six 
  or 
  eight 
  pairs 
  may 
  pass 
  over 
  a 
  ridge 
  for 
  a 
  day 
  or 
  two 
  on 
  the 
  way 
  to 
  water, 
  for 
  the 
  

   following 
  week, 
  without 
  any 
  apparent 
  cause, 
  not 
  a 
  bird 
  will 
  appear 
  anywhere 
  in 
  the 
  

   vicinity. 
  Thus 
  luck 
  enters 
  as 
  a 
  considerable 
  factor 
  into 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  their 
  life- 
  

   histories. 
  

  

  J. 
  P. 
  Cook 
  writes 
  as 
  follows 
  of 
  the 
  Burmese 
  Pheasant: 
  " 
  I 
  saw 
  this 
  beautiful 
  bird 
  

   . 
  . 
  . 
  several 
  times, 
  and 
  generally 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  jungle 
  on 
  rocky 
  hills. 
  On 
  one 
  

   occasion 
  I 
  put 
  up 
  five 
  birds 
  singly 
  at 
  intervals 
  of 
  about 
  a 
  minute 
  or 
  two. 
  At 
  one 
  time 
  

   I 
  thought 
  I 
  had 
  found 
  a 
  nest, 
  as 
  a 
  hen 
  bird 
  rose 
  at 
  my 
  feet, 
  but 
  I 
  hunted 
  everywhere 
  

   without 
  success. 
  These 
  pheasants 
  do 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  quite 
  so 
  gregarious 
  as 
  G. 
  lineatus, 
  

   nor 
  so 
  partial 
  to 
  the 
  proximity 
  of 
  water. 
  ... 
  On 
  one 
  occasion 
  I 
  put 
  up 
  a 
  pheasant 
  out 
  

   of 
  some 
  wild 
  raspberry 
  bushes 
  among 
  long 
  grass, 
  on 
  the 
  fruit 
  of 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  perhaps 
  

   feeding." 
  

  

  