THE INDIAN CRIMSON TRAGOPAN. 141 



jungle that clothes the sides of the hills ; but here and there 

 a rock stands out, leaving a small open space, and on this occa- 

 sionally, at such an hour, and if no one else had haply passed 

 that way, a Pheasant might be seen standing proudly upright, 

 or snatching a hasty breakfast ere the growing day sent him 

 to the valley below. If the birds were within shot (but, indeed, 

 in such thick cover, to be within sight was to be within shot), the 

 sportsman either then and there potted him, or, if in a more 

 chivalrous mood, started him on the wing, and took him as he 

 rose to clear the jungle. Sometimes the bird, especially if a 

 hen, would, on catching sight of the sportsman, run into cover. 



"As before said, a snap pot, when the bird is first sighted on 

 the ground, or a snap shot, as he rises through the bushes, is the 

 sportsman's only chance. When a fine cock-bird shoots into 

 the air, his inexpressibly rich plumage in clear relief against 

 the snowy white mist of the valley far below is a splendid 

 sight indeed ! The aim should be quick, and the charge heavy — 

 of No. 1 or 2 — for if not killed at once, search for a wounded 

 bird is almost always profitless toil ; and if it be only winged, 

 pursuit is as vain as if it were missed altogether. Alas ! if 

 missed, the unlucky wight sees the kaleidoscopic vision shoot 

 like a ruby meteor down the dizzy depth below, across the 

 misty valley to settle in the woods of some far distant hill — 

 Eheu, nunquam revisura /" 



THE CRIMSON Tragopan breeds high up, at elevations of from 

 9,000 to 12,000 feet, in the forests that lie below the snow, or in 

 dense patches of the hill bamboo ; but I have never found the 

 eggs myself, and my account is based on the statement of na- 

 tives, from whom I received the only eggs I possess, which 

 latter were taken in Kumaun in May. 



The eggs are much like large hens' eggs, perhaps rather 

 more elongated and more compressed towards the small end. 

 The shell is only moderately stout, and the surface is conspi- 

 cuously pitted over with pores. In colour they are nearly white, 

 having only a faint cafe an lait colour, and they are here and 

 there very slightly freckled with a pale dull lilac. One egg 

 is somewhat darker and entirely wants these markings. They 

 have very little gloss. In length they vary from 2*54 to 2*62, 

 and in breadth from 1*8 to r84 



NUMEROUS MALES, measured in the flesh, varied as follows : — 

 Length, 26-5 to 28-5 ; expanse, 32*0 to 3475 ; wing, io*o to 



I0"6 ; tail from vent, I0"0 to H'5 ; tarsus, 3*25 to 375 ; bill 



from gape, 1-44 to 1*52. Weight (adults) 3ft»s. 8ozs. to 4ft>s. 



ioozs. 



In an adult male killed in May, the bill was blackish brown, 



paler at the tip ; the irides deep brown ; the legs and toes pale 



