L O P H O P H O R U S I M P E Y A N U S .
It may be questioned whether they do pair or not in places where they are at all numerous; i f they do, it would appear that the
union is dissolved as soon as the females begin to sit ; for the male seems to pay no attention whatever to ' her whilst sitting, or
to the young brood when hatched, and is seldom found, with them. The call o f the Monaul f i j a loud plaintive whistle, which
is often heard in the forest at daybreak or towards evening, and occasionally a t all hours of the day. In severe weather,^unibers
may be heard calling in different quarters of the wood before they retire J o roost. The call has a rather melancholy sound ; 8 1
it may be that, as the shades of a dreary winter’s evening begin to close on the snow-covered hills around, the; cold'and cheerless
aspect of nature, with which it seems quite in unison, makes it appear so.
“ From April to the commencement of the cold season, the Monaul is rather wild and shy; .but this soon gives way to the alltaming
influence of winter’s frosts and snows ; and from October it gradually .becomes less so, till it may he said to be quite thé reverse;
hut as it is often found in places nearly free from underwood, and never attempts to escape observation by concealing itself in
the grass or bushes, it is perhaps sooner alarmed, and a t a greater distance than other Pheasants, and may therefore appear at all
times a little wild and timid; In spring it often rises a long way in front, and it is difficult to g e t near it when it again alights,
if it does not a t once fly too far to follow; but in winter, it may often be approached within gunshot on the ground, and when
flushed it generally alights on a tree at no great distance, and you may then walk quite close to it before it again takes wing.
“ In the forest, when alarmed, it generally rises-at once w i th o u tc ^ h h g o r running far on the ground; but on the open glades
or grassy slopes, or any place to which it comes only to feed, it will, if not hard pressed, run gjpwalk slowly away in preference
to getting up, and a distant bird, when alarmed by the rising of others, will occasionally begin and continue calling for some
time while on the ground. It gets up with a loud -fluttering and a rapid succession o f sh rill. screeching whistles often continued
till it alights, when it occasionally commences its ordinary loud and plaintive call, and continues it for some time. In winter, vwh.en'
one or two birds have been flushed, all within hearing soon get alarmed: if they are collected together,--they get up in rapid
succession; if distantly scattered, bird after bird slowly gets up, the shrill call o f each as it rises alarming others still further off,
till all in the immediate neighbourhood have risen. In the chestnut forests, where they are often collected in numerous bodies,
where there is little underwood, and the trees, thinly dispersed and entirely stripped of their leaves, allow o f an extensive view
through the wood, I liave often stood till twenty or thirty have got lip and alighted on the surrounding trees, then walked Hip to
the different trees, and fired a t those I wished to procure, without alarming them, only those close being disturbed a t each report.
In spring they are more independent o f each other’s movements, and, though much wilder, are more apt to; wait till individually
disturbed. When they alight in the trees, and are again flushed, the second flight is always a longer one. When repeatedly
disturbed by the sportsman o r shikaries, they often take a long flight in the first instance. The seasons a lso h av e great influence
over them in this respect, as well as in their degree o f tameness or wildness. In spring, when the snow lias melted g ip every
part of the forest, and they . have little difficulty in procuring abundance o f food, they appear careless about being driven from any
particular spot, and often fly a long way ; but in winter, when a sufficiency o f food- ' is not easily obtained, they seem more
intent on satisfying their hunger, and do not so much heed the appearance of man. The females appear a t all times much
tamer, than the males. The latter have one peculiarity not common in birds of this o rd e r; if intent on making: a long flight,
an old male, after flying a short way, will often cease flapping his wings, and soar along with a trembling vibratory motion a t a
considerable height in the air, when, particularly if the sun be shining on his brilliant plumage’ he appears to great advantage,
and certainly looks. one o f the most magnificent of the Pheasant, tribe.
“ In autumn the Monaul feeds on a grub or maggot which it finds under the decayed leaves; at other times o n zvê&is, leaves,
and young shoots of various grasses,-.acorns, .and other seeds and berries. In winfér it often feeds in the wheat- and, barley-fields,
but does-not touch the grain;; roots and maggots seem to be its sole inducement for digging amongst iti,; At all times and in
all seasons, it is very assiduous in the operation of digging, and continues at it for hours. together. In the higher, forests, large
open plots occur quite free from trees or underwood; and early in the morning or towards evening, these may often be seen dotted
over with Monauls, all busily engaged at their favourite occupation.
The Monaul roosts in the larger forest trees, but in summer, when near and above their limits, will often roost on the ground
in some steep rocky spot. The female makes her nest under a small overhanging bush or tuft o f grass, and lays five eggs, of a
dull white, speckled with reddish brown ; the chicks are hatched about' the end of May. The flesh is considered by some nearly
equal to Turkey, and by others scarcely eatable. In autumn and winter many, particularly feriiales and yoiing birds, are excellent,
and scarcely to be surpassed in flavour or delicacy by any of the tribe, while from the end of winter most are found to be the
reverse, They are easily kept in confinement, and, I should imagine, might, without much difficulty, be naturalized in Europe.
“ I he young males for the first year nearly resemble the-females, but may easily be distinguished by the white -feathers ’ o n . the
chin and throat being spotted with black, the venttfeathers are also marked with the same, and thè whole plumage- has a darker
and. rather glossy appearance. When changing their plumage they appear s p o t t e d ^ over with the brilliant metallic hues, &c. See. ;
the second year they receive the whole of their splendid colours, with the exception of the seventh long feather of the wing, which
keeps the brown colour for another year $
After ^ so thorough and interesting an account as the one ju st given, it would seem that but little is left- to add to our
L O P H O P H O R U S IM P E Y A N U S .
knowledge of the habits of this beautiful species. It is now many years since this fine bird has been introduced alive in England.
So long ago as 1846, the Earl o f Derby possessed a pair, which he kept at his menagerie at Knowsley; and the female having laid
some eggs, they.Were hatched under a common hen. The young lived to attain their full" size, but died in the following year.
At the present day the Monaid is seen in inearly every Zoological Garden in Europe, and always proves a great attraction to
visitors, who gaze iu admiration on the beautiful creature, which, when the sun shines upon its plumage, appears clad in burnished
steel and gold. At th e period I write, May 1870, there is a male in the gardens of the Society in Regent’s Park in the finest
plumage I hfiye -ever witnessed; and it is quite impossible by any plate to do |f u l justice to the magnificent appearance of the
species. :
The young are rather ¡delicate birds, and require considerable care and attention to rear them successfully; and many broods
perish before reaching; maturity. This seems the more singular, since; being an inhabitant of cold climates, dwelling for the greater
part o f the year near the line o f perpetual snow, (pe- would naturally look for a hardy constitution in the offspring, and that little
or no difficulty would be experienced in rearing them. Suclj, unfortunately, does not appear to be the case, at least in those
instances which have- come .under-my knowledge; and although large numbers have a t various times been imported to England
as well as the Continent, the species does not seem to increase in its foreign homes. The following extract is from the pen of a
well-known writer, who, under his norn deplume o f “ Ornithognomon,” discourses as follows on the-ihabits of this species
“ The Monaul ranges high in the mountains where it is found, keeping near the line of snow, and, although met with in the
ridges n ex t. the plains, becomes much, more numerous further in the mountains. It frequents the entire range of the Himala, from
Afghanistan to Siikhim, but does not extend along the great branch running south through Burma and Malayana. Its range in
elevation varies according to season;; but in the severest winter it does not appear to descend below 6000 feet above sea-level.
I have seen numbers in Nepal in winter, brought with other kinds of pheasants by the Botias for sale in the plains of India, where
they soon perish when the hot weather begins.
“ The gradual increase of our hill-stations in the Himala, and the unwearying excursions of our sportsmen, are driving these
birds from the vicinity o f our settlements into the more inaccessible mountains of the interior. Formerly, about Mussoori and
Landour; it was not thought a great feat to bag a few in a day’s work; but now they have to be sought much further. They
ta re forest birds, and difficult to be found in summer when vegetation is profuse, unless by ascending to the highest limits o f the
forest, when shots may be obtained in the open downs above, and amongst the rocks and thin herbage near the snow. In autumn,
as the underwood decays, they descend and scatter through the woods, sometimes in great numbers, and seek lower levels as the winter
advances and the [sjp becomes frozen. At such times they draw near to the-smalljvillages perched on the lower spurs and above
the sheltered valleys, and seek their food in the fields* wiiete the mountaineers, with their large hoes, have dug up the soil, In these
seasonal migrations it has been remarked that the females and young birds descend lowest and approach nearest to human habitations.
The old birds are shyer and wilder, and many remain high up even where the ground is deeply covered with snow.
“ They appear to be either capricious in: their rambles through the woods, or are actuated to particular spots a t particular times
for reasons npt apparent. Sometimes the sportsman will put up in one part of the forest fifteen or twenty in the space of four or
five acres. In another portion he may keep on flushing for the rest of the day single birds, feeding in solitude, far apart. At no
time are they gregarious; aud whenever alarmed, they rise and escape independently of each other. In some parts only cock birds
are found, in others only hens—and these last, as before remarked, together with young birds, always nearest to habitations, and
in opener slopes o f the mountains, more accessible to the sportsman.
“ Severity o f cold and scarceness of food have their taming effect on the Monaul, as on other birds; and the lower the Snow the
easier the task of making a bag. But, in fact, the Monaul is not nearly so wild as the Tragopan, the Euplocamuss the Polypleclron, the
Macartneya, and other genera o f Peafowl and Hill-Pheasants. Its habits are more open; and instead of skulking in such impermeable cover
as is described in my remarks on Polyplectron tibetanus (o r chinquis) , it walks about pretty openly in forest glades clear of underwood.
At the same time it must be observed that the absence of cover enables it to espy the sportsman a t a distance; and it takes to
wing frequently out of shot, which I have never seen any other bird of this family do. When on the wing, it generally flies a
Ipng way, and, if much alarmed, crosses over tp a parallel ridge. Occasionally, however, it will settle on the low limb o f a tree
a t no great distance; and once there, it is, like many other gallinaceous birds, easy of access. Sometimes, when approached in
open spots, it walks off or begins to run, stopping often and eyeing the intruder, till suddenly, and without apparent immediate
cause, it will rise with a startling flapping Pi- flutter of the wings, scattering the dead leaves in a shower around, and fly headlong
into the wood with a succession of short piercing shrieking whistles, which appear to act as a warning to some distant companions;
for their »csfllsllare often heard in reply. When feeding quietly and in security, the Monaul has a sweet mellow calK—a long
plaintive npte which it utters from time to time, especially o f a morning and after sunset. It has the same melancholy effect on
the ear as the creaking whistle o f the curlew winging his way along the mudflats as evening settles over the lonely shore.
“ The Monaul breeds towards the end of spring. The courtship is carried on in the chestnut and large timber forests before the
birds ascend (during the summer heats) towards the regions o f perpetual snow. I t is generally near the upper limits of these forests,
where the trees are dwarfed and sparingly scattered, that the hen lays and incubates three to five eggs, in a depression on the