C E R I O R N I S S A T Y R A .
“ In 1842, when I was a t Dorjeling, the Sikim Horned Pheasant was to be met with between Pacheem a n d ; the Sengchul
Mountain, along the road from Kursiong to the Sanitarium ; and a clever; snap shot might bag qne ; ^ | two in the early part of the
winter, during a foggy, mizzly morning. I t was necessary to proceed rapidly and noiselessly along the road, peeping warily down
each watercourse that crosses the path and shoots into the valley below. These gullies are shut in with the dense jungle that
clothes the sides of the hills; but here and there a rock stands out, leaving a small-open space; and on this occasionally, a t such
an hour, and if no one else had haply passed that way, a Pheasant might be seen standing proudly upright, or snatching a hasty
breakfast ere the growing day sent him to the kud below. I f the bird were within shot (but* indeed, in such thick cover,' to be
within sight was to be within shot), the sportsman either then and there potted him, or, if in a more chiyadipis mood, started
him on the wing and took him as he rose to clear the jungle. Sometimes the bird, especially if a hen, would, on catching sight
of the sportsman, run into cover. In such cases a couple of spaniels would be found o f great utility to make it flush. As to
descending one’s self, and attempting to beat up the bird, it would have been the act of a thorough ignoramus, or of a madman.
I f the readers of \ The Field ’ have perused the paper on Polyplectron tibetanus, which preceded the present article, and are informed
that the mountain-sides in Sikim are as difficult of ascent and descent as those o f Tenasserim, they will understand the folly of
attempting to fblfew through such tremendous cover a bird so wild and swift ofjfoot as the Horned Pheasant. As before said, a snap
pot when the bird is first sighted on the ground, or a suap- shot as he rises through the bashes, is the sportsman’s only chance.
When a fine cock bird shoots into the air, his inexpressibly rich plumage in clear relief against the snowy white mist &fg the
valley far below, if-js a splendid sight indeed! The aim should be quick, and the charge heavy—of No. 1 or 2 ; for if not
killed at once, search for a wounded bird is almost always profitless to il; and if it be only winged, pursuit is as vain as if it
were missed altogether. Alas, if missed, the unlucky wight sees the kaleidoscopic vision shoot like a ruby meteor down the dizzy
depth below, across the misty kud; to settle in the woods o f some far distant hill—
“ Eheu, nunquam revisural
“ The old cock bird is said by the Lepchas to crow something like the domestic cock; a t least I was so, informed by my hill
‘ shikaree’ and one or two other natives; but the veracity of these gentlemen is but a- slender reed to rest on, and Jerdon
gives a very different account of its voice. He says, ‘ Its call, which I have heard in spring, is a low, deep,' beUbwing cry,
sounding like waa-ung, waa-ung.’ I have never had an opportunity of judging with my own ea rs ; for, though I have kept four
or five of these birds in confinement, I do not remember their uttering any cry. They may be purchased in all the stations; along
the Nepal frontier, in the cold Weather, from the Botias, who leave their snows at that season to bring various curiosities to
the plains for sale; and until May or June they may be kept a l i v e | | | large aviaries, but seldom survive the middle -of May,
and are to the last wild and timid. It is singular that this bird should not b e a r'b e a t in confinement so well as the Monaul; for
it never ranges so high as that bird, lives in a warmer latitude, and descends into kuds where the heat is intolerable.
“ The steep hills on the Botan side of the Runget, all along the course of that river to the greater stream of the Teesta, were,
in 1842, tolerably well Stocked with these beautiful Pheasants; and in the cold season they could be procured without great toil,
as of a morning they were sure to be found ■ on the paths, scratching about the droppings of the numerous sheep which the
Botias load with salt and drive to the plains from their mountains..
“ Regarding the b re ed in g Ig i the Horned Pheasant, I regret torrsay I know nothing.”
This species has been known by many names ; and various authors have placed it under numerous genera; but the latter will
all become synonyms to the term Ceriornis of Swainson. Not that it is prior to any other, because Satyr a of Lesson was
proposed first; but as that had been already employed for a genus o f Hornbills, it could not be again used in ornithology, and
therefore was superceded by Ceriornis.
Male.—Head black; a broad line of deep red bn either side, commencing a t the eye and going to the occiput. Horns blue.
Throat intense blue, surrounded by a hand o f black.. Neck, upper part of. back, underparts,’ and shoulders beautiful bright red,
spotted with white, each spot surrounded with b la c k ; these ocelli become quite large near the abdomen and flanks, and grp;,;
there grey instead of white. Feathers of the back black, barred irregularly with light brpwn, with two large brown spots on each
side near the tip of the feather, and a small spot tif white in the centre of the black a t the t ip ; these white spots become
much larger on the upper tail-coverts, where they occupy nearly one-third of the tip;- and the hrown, which is here more o f a
reddish hue, extends one-third the length of the feather. The upper coverts extend to within two inches o f the end of the
tail, and are olive-brown, tipped with black. Primaries and secondaries black, mottled with ochre. Rest o f wings similar to the
back, with many of the feathers broadly margined with red near the shoulder. Thighs red, with black on the centre ofc.lthe
feathers near the tips. Bill horn-colour. Legs and feet red.
Female.—Entire upper parts rufous brown, mottled and blotched, confusedly with black, darkest on the back. . Cliih whitish,
striped with light brown. Breast and underparts light brown, dotted with black similar to the back ; centre o f feathers buff. Wings
black, mottled like the back; secondaries crossed with rufous. Primaries dark brown, irregularly marked with rufous on inner webs,
and barred with the same on outer. Tail black, barred and mottled with rufous. Bill horn-colour. Feet red.