Though they seem to do well Id confinement for a short time, I do not 
think they would live long In a stale of captivity, their nature being so 
'■’lid and shy that they are unable to adapt themselves to the confined life 
of an aviary. 
I kept a brood of four, which were brought to me quite your%, for eight 
months,, at the end of which time they -ere stricken by some disease, whlco 
carried them off one by one. They were at all times very shy, hiding De¬ 
hind the artificial cover with which I provided them, and whenever they were 
frightened flew up against the bamboo covering of the "run* in whicn I kept 
them, sadly lacerating tfteir "head's. The Injuries thus received, however, 
did not appear to affect their health, as one Individual lived for months 
with a bare skull, which he acquired by clashing his head repeatedly against 
the roof of the aviary. They were confined with an old male bird, and did 
very well for about a month, until they 'grow up, when they commenced to r 
V 
fight w,ith the old cock; arid after that they became very shy and restless, 
"'hen about six months old they began the regular call, uttering it generally 
about eleven o’clock; prior to this they made a chirping note something like 
that of a young fowl. 
Kr Holdsworth brought some specimens to England, but writes that "though 
apparently strong and well, they all died within three days after the ship 
entered the Thames*. This gentleman also states that numbers are trapped 
by the natives in the upper hills, hair nooses being use- for the purpose. 
NIDIFICATIOH 
The Spur Fowl breeds from April till July or August in the low country, 
and I believe, about the sane period in the hills. I found a nest on the 
17th of July 1872, on one of the islands lri the Ambalamgodda lake; it was 
situated under an overhanging rock, on stepping on the top of which I flush¬ 
ed the bird from beneath me. She ran a little distance, and then flew off 
with a loud "whirr* like that of a grouse. The nest was merely a slight 
hollow scraper! in the- ground, with one or two'dead leaves on the bottom to 
serve as a lining;, the eggs were two in number, and evidently in this inst¬ 
ance formed the entire clutch, as they were'slightly Incubated. I have, 
however, seen four young in a brood, and Kr Bligh has net with five. 
He writes me: - "I once came upon a family of Spur Fowl in large open 
jungle; the hen flew of? at once, warning the brood, which were not larger 
than sparrows, with a loud cackling scream, to do the sane; they all flew 
into the bushes and trees. I watched one little fellow fly about ten yards 
and alight on the bole of a large tree some twelve feet from the ground, and 
