Alex Hampe—Once More the Blue Crossoptilon



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they were laid on another stump it ate them at once and then flew off.

This was repeated every day, and it was always waiting for me, and

in a very short time was feeding from my hands. Gradually, I induced

it to meet me nearer and nearer the hut ; very timidly at first, but

in the end whenever it wanted food it came right in if no one else

was there. The day before I left I caught it up again and took it down

the river with me to another village some days away and turned it

loose again there, where it stayed around the house roosting in a nearby

tree at night. One day when I came in the Indians told me it had

been carried off by a Hawk, and showed me the feathers lying about

where the struggle had taken place. The next morning or evening,

I forget which, as I was passing through the far side of the village,

came my half-plucked and badly-clawed bird from under an old hut.

Although in a bad way I was delighted to have it back again as if it were

risen from the dead. Probably the Hawk had taken more than it could

well fly off with, and dropped it. This bird eventually came with me

to England and lived for some years. Guans cross readily with some

breeds of domestic poultry, and are much esteemed for this purpose

in some parts of South America. The males have a curious crow some¬

thing like a rooster’s. The Napo, Coca, and Suno Indians all called

this bird guataracu.



ONCE MORE THE BLUE CROSSOPTILON


By Alex Hampe


I hope people will not get fed up with articles about the Crossoptilons,

but as I flatter myself to have procured the original parents of all the Blue

Crossoptilons existing now in Europe, I hope our members will forgive

me for making some further remarks on this handsome pheasant.

How I obtained the first lot for M. Delacour in 1929, I have already

described in our Magazine. I may add that since 1905 I had tried again

and again to obtain this species, but only in 1929 was success accom¬

plished. The pair from which Mr. Stefani bred so successfully this year

was brought over from Shanghai to Marseilles in my personal care.

I picked it from a lot of about thirty-five brought to Shanghai by the

Chinese servant of a friend of mine who did collecting work for an



