I48 THE WESTERN TRAGOPAN. 



it will be next to impossible to get a shot, though many birds 

 may be found. They will be scattered singly in widely dis- 

 tant places ; some will keep in the trees altogether, one now and 

 then flying off close above the sportsman's head, but so suddenly 

 and rapidly as to leave little chance off his getting a shot at it ; 

 and many, as soon as aware of the sportsman's presence in the 

 wood, will, without waiting for his approach, conceal them- 

 selves so artfully as to leave only a bare possibility of his ever 

 finding them. 



" Even if the particular tree into which one has been seen 

 to fly is immediately approached, one may stand for an hour 

 under it, and examine almost every leaf and branch without 

 being able to discover the bird, and should one even succeed in 

 doing this, one is still too often disappointed in getting a shot, as 

 they seem to keep their eye fixed on your movements, and to 

 become aware of the very moment they are discovered, darting 

 off before the gun can be put to the shoulder. 



" In spring, which is the season most generally chosen by the 

 sportsman for excursions in the interior, he will have a better 

 chance of finding them than in autumn, as then they are not 

 so restricted in their resorts, but are distributed all over the 

 forests, and the males do not so much covet concealment, 

 They should now be sought for in the higher parts of the 

 forest, where the birch tree begins to make its appearance, and it 

 is advisable to sit and listen at intervals for their call. On hearing 

 it, the sportsman should proceed as quickly and noiselessly as 

 possible to the quarter from whence the sound proceeded, listen- 

 ing at times for a repetition of the call to guide him to the 

 exact spot. The bird will generally be found on some exposed 

 spot where a nice pot shot (oh !) may be had. Great caution 

 must be taken, particularly when getting near, as, if once dis- 

 turbed, there is little chance of finding the bird again that day. 



" The Jewar roosts in trees, and in winter, perhaps for warmth, 

 seems to prefer the low evergreens, with closely-interwoven 

 leaves and branches, to the larger trees which overshadow them." 



THE ONLY eggs of the Western Tragopan that I have yet seen 

 are six sent to me by Captain Unwin from Hazara, which 

 were taken on the 25th May 1869 by Captain Lautour, who com- 

 municated to him the following note : — 



" I was shooting on a range of hills from 8,000 to 1 1,000 feet 

 high. The Argus in parts very plentiful, the hills covered with 

 pine forests, and the Argus I used to find about one-fourth of 

 the height of the hill from the top, and they appeared to affect 

 the vicinity and edges of snow nallas and landslips, where 

 there was a fair quantity of undergrowth, and where there were 

 plenty of rocks. 



" At the time of finding the nest, I was on the look-out for 

 Pheasants, but the ground being rather stiff, I had just given up 



