252 Mr. O. Salvin on the Derby an Mountain-Pheasant. 
a walnut, has a purple skin when ripe, and a large stone in the 
centre : it is ripe in January*. This forest is evidently the home 
of the Oreophasis, as the Cracidce (and to this family the pre¬ 
sent bird undoubtedly belongs) are a family of forest-loving birds, 
any member of which would feel strangely out of its element in 
one of those open sunny savannas in which artists delight to 
place them. 
In ' The Ibis/ 1859, p.224,1 stated that there was good reason 
to suppose that the examples of Oreophasis procured by Mr. 
Skinner were obtained from the Volcan de Agua. This I find 
was not the case, as they were shot nearly in the same spot in the 
Volcan de Fuego as my specimens. Strange as it may seem, the 
Volcan de Fuego is the sole locality which has produced this bird. 
I made every inquiry for it in Vera Paz, where the forests of the 
mountain-tops somewhat resemble those of the volcanos, but 
could hear nothing of it; nor is it even known to the charcoal- 
burners of the Volcan de Agua. Though its non-occurrence in 
localities which might be supposed favourable to its existence 
rests on negative evidence, yet it is certain that, whereas to the 
Indians frequenting the Volcan de Fuego the bird is well known, 
nowhere else can its existence be traced, not even in the Volcan 
de Agua. From all I could hear, and from having made three 
or four fruitless expeditions in search of it, I am led to conclude 
that it is rare even in the single mountain where it is found. 
This supposition is borne out by Mr. Wyld, who has frequently 
inquired of the Indians of San Pedro Ipocapa and Acatenango 
(villages on the southern and western sides of the volcano), but 
could hear nothing of it. 
The Oreophasis is known to the Indians frequenting the 
mountain as the “ Khannanay,” and to the Ladinos or half- 
bred Indians as the “ Faisan." 
The female of O. derbianus was until lately unknown to 
science. Owing, I am inclined to think, to the absence of 
positive information on the subject, she has been supposed to 
bear plumage different from the male (as is the case in Crax 
* Specimens of the branches and fruit of this tree have been submitted 
to Dr. Hooker, who has kindty identified it as a Primus, closely allied to, 
if not the same as, Prunus occidentalis of the West Indies. 
