140 THE INDIAN CRIMSON TRAGOPAN.
two triangular patches of red feathers, their points meeting at
the occiput; the large wattle is also concealed or displayed at
the will of the bird. The male has three distinct modes
of ' showing off,' if I may be allowed the expression. Afterwalking
about rather excitedly, he places himself in front of the
female, with the body slightly crouching upon the legs, and the
tail bent downwards ; the head is then violently jerked downwards,
and the horns and wattle become conspicuous. The wings
have a flapping motion, and the bright red patch on them is fully
displayed. The whole of the neck appears to be larger than
usual during this action, as do also the horns, which, moreover,
vibrate with every movement. This scene is concluded by
the bird suddenly drawing himself up to bis full height, with his
wings expanded and quivering, the horns erect, and the wattle
fully displayed. The second mode consists of simply erecting
all his feathers, and elevating one shoulder, thereby exposing
a greater surface to view, without however showing his headdress.
The third mode is by simply standing boldly erect on
an elevated perch, giving the head one or two sudden shakes,
and causing the horns and wattle to appear for a few moments."
In the cold weather they descend much lower, and arc then
much tamer, and, as Captain Beavan tells us, readily snared.
Writing of Sikhim, be says :—
" The winter months, when the underwood is not so dense
as at other seasons, are the only period of the year at which
even the natives can get at them. The usual plan of capture
is by making a hedge of bushes about three feet high, extending
down the sides of a hill, like the sides of a triangle, with
the base open. The sides are made to gradually converge
until near the apex, where small gaps are left, in each of which
a noose is placed. The birds are then slowly driven by men
on foot walking in line from and parallel to the base of the
triangle and towards its apex ; and the birds continuing
t o run instead of resorting to flight, dash through the openings
and arc caught in the nooses. A curious fact with regard to
this mode of capture is, that the proportion of males to
females is generally four or five of the former to one of the
latter."
Some of Colonel Tickell's reminiscences of this species are
well worth reproduction. He says :—
" I n 1842, when I was at Darjeeling, the Crimson Tragopan
was to be met with between Pacheem and the Sungphul
Mountain, along the road from Kutshing to the Sanitarium ;
and a clever snap shot might bag one or two in the early part
of the winter, during a foggy mizzly morning. It 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 arc shut in with the dense
THE INDIAN CRIMSON TRAGOPAN. I 4 t
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 valley below. If the birds were within shot (but, indeed,
in such thick cover, to be within sight was to be within sbot), the
sportsman either then and there potted him, or, if in a more
chivalrous 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.
" As before said, a snap pot, when the bird is first sighted on
the ground, or a snap shot, as he rises through the bushes, 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 of the valley far below is 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 toil ; 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 valley to settle in the woods of some far distant hill—•
Ehen, nunquam revisura.'"
T H E CRIMSON Tragopan breeds high up, at elevations of from
9,000 to 12,000 feet, in the forests that lie below the snow, or in
dense patches of the hill bamboo ; but I have never found the
eggs myself, and my account is based on the statement of natives,
from whom I received the only eggs I possess, which
latter were taken in Kumaun in May.
The eggs arc much like large hens' eggs, perhaps rather
more elongated and more compressed towards the small end.
The shell is only moderately stout, and the surface is conspicuously
pitted over with pores. In colour they are nearly white,
having only a faint cafe an tait colour, and they arc here and
there very slightly freckled with a pale dull lilac. One egg
is somewhat darker and entirely wants these markings. They
have very little gloss. In length they vary from 2'54 to 2'6"2,
and in breadth from r8 to 184
NUMEROUS MALES, measured in the flesh, varied as follows :—
Length, 265 to 28-5 ; expanse, 32-0 to 3475 ; wing, i c o to
10-6; tail from vent, io'O to 11-5; tarsus, 3-25 to 375 ; bill
from'gape, 1-44 to 152, Weight (adults) 3tbs. 8ozs. to 4lbs.
1 In an adult male killed in May, the bill was blackish brown,
paler at the tip ; the hides deep brown ; the legs and toes pale