GIGANTIC ARGUS. 



247 



Iback, are of a red-chesnut: the back, the rump, 

 the lesser wing-coverts, and those of the tail, 

 are yellowish brown, transversely striped with 

 zigzag black bands of various widths : the quills 

 and the feathers at the bend of the wing have the 

 webs of a deep red, spotted with black : the se- 

 condaries, which are so remarkable in the male, 

 in this sex are dusky brown, irregularly marked 

 with small yellow-ochre spots of various forms, 

 resembling the characters made use of by the 

 Chinese : the feathers of the tail are of a chesnut- 

 brown, varied with black spots and stripes : the 

 tail itself is composed of two parallel planes : the 

 skin on the neck and the feet are of the same 

 colour as in the male. 



According to Marsden, this bird is a native of 

 the woods of Surinam ; it is also found in the 

 south of India, and particularly the kingdoms of 

 Pegu, Siam, and Cambodia, and very abund- 

 antly about Malacca : in the former place it is 

 called coO'OW, It has a great antipathy to the 

 light, being very dull during the day ; but when 

 jn the dark is very lively, and sometimes makes its 

 note or call, from which it takes its Sumatran 

 name : its voice is rather plaintive, and not harsh 

 as in the Peacock. It is extremely difficult to be 

 kept alive for any considerable time after catching 

 it in the woods ; never for more than a month. 



