94 T H E EASTERN OR BURMESE PEA-FOWL.
to dense cover. At night, of course, it roosts upon trees, and
its call-note, like that of the Indian bird, which it closely
resembles, is a harsh mew, mew, mew, which one might fancy
to be the cry of some gigantic tom-cat in distress.
Very little is on record about this species, and even Colonel
Ticked tells us next to nothing about it, but he writes so charmingly,
and wraps his nothing so nicely in silver paper, that I am
fain to quote what he says :—
" The habits of Pavo muticus are so similar to those of its
congener as scarcely to admit of separate description ; but I
should say it was a still more strictly sylvan or forest-haunting
bird. Cultivation does not appear to entice it far from its leafy
fastnesses, as it does the Bengal species, and it is in consequence
more secluded, wilder, and difficult of approach, besides
being far less numerous. I have never seen more than
three or four of the Barman Pea-Fowl together, whereas the
Bengal species unite in flocks of 30, 40, or 50. It haunts the
thickest jungle, whether on level ground or on the sides of
small hills, and is frequently found in the masses of elephant
grass which so commonly skirt the smaller brackish creeks and
nallas of Arakan. A specimen with a full train is seldom seen
except in the beginning of the rains, which is t h e season of courtship.
About August they moult, drop their long occllatcd tailcovcrts,
and assume the simpler green-barred ones. The train
appears again in the succeeding March or April ; but the
moulting of this bird appears to be irregular, and I have seen
cock birds with fine flowing trains in January and February.
The hen incubates in the rains, but at uncertain periods ; the
young just hatched have been brought to me at Moulmein at
different times, from August till January. The eggs cannot be
distinguished from those of the Bengal bird.
" T h e best, and certainly the pleasantcst, way of shooting these
birds is from a canoe, in the evening, when they come to the
water to drink-. The vast forests in Amherst, one of the districts
of Tcnasscrim, are permeated by numerous streams,
which form the only practicable roads through many parts of
them. Such are the Houngthrau, the Wynyo, the Zummee,
the Ataran, and some others. Near the hills from whence they
issue these small rivers are beautifully clear, rippling over beds
of white sand, or clean rocks free from weed. And nothing can
be more luxurious than to float down them with a couple of
Karens or Talai'ns paddling now and then just sufficiently to
allow of steerage way, and with an old fellow squatted astern
at the helm. The air is cool on these crystal waters, and the
boat glides smoothly and silently along, while each turn of the
meandering stream brings some fresh beautiful prospect into
view. Now we pass beneath a lofty roof of verdure, where
giant trees on cither side meet overhead, and, interlacing their
foliage, cast a green shadow on the limpid pool. Bright flowers
THE E A S T E R N OR BURMESE TEA-FOWL. 95
clustering on parasites and creepers in endless variety, with
orchids of every hue and fantastic shape, enliven the lovely
avenue. Suddenly we sweep into a rock-girt space, where the
grey walls inclose a pool so deep that the ribbed sand and
boulders of the bottom melt away from view. Anon the boat
emerges into a broader part, where shallows break the stream
into many brawling currents, and the trees, retiring farther from
us, disclose to view the purple mountains peering through thenupper
branches. In such spots as these, when the sun begins
to draw near the western horizon, and the shades of evening
gather over the water and the silent shore, the sportsman may
get several snap-shots, before darkness settles on the banks, at
Jungle Fowl, Pea-Fowl, Hill Pheasants(Euplocomus), or perhaps
a Deer. If there be small islets in the river, covered with high
grass or bush, he should search every one, sending a boatman
on shore to beat the cover. Pea-Fowl and Jungle Fowl are very
fond of emerging from the heavy jungle towards evening if all
is quiet, and flying into such islets, where they scratch about
in the sand, drink at the margin, and roost for the night, if
undisturbed, secure from jungle cats.
" Karens have the same notion or idea as the Hindustanis
entertain of the Tiger and Pea-Fowl affecting the same locality ;
and on the Ataran River a painful confirmation of this opinion
occurred some twenty years ago. A gentleman was travelling
up that stream in a boat to visit some teak forests, and one
morning, hearing the cry of a Peacock on the bank, stepped on
shore with his gun to shoot the bird. It ran before him, alluring
him farther into the jungle, till about a couple of hundred
yards from the water-side he was seized and killed by a tiger
before help could reach him."
I HAVE not many measurements of this species, but I note
that birds, even in full plumage, seem to vary much in size
according to age.
The total length of the finest bird of which I have a record,
from the tip of the bill to the end of the train, was 90 inches.
The following arc the details of all the males we have measured
and weighed in the flesh :—
Length, to end of true tail, 40'0 to 48-0; train, projects
beyond end of tail from 240 to 44-0; expanse, 50-5 to 6o'0 ;
wing, 1675 to 19-75 ; tail from vent, 15-5 to 17-5 ; tarsus, 5-5
to 6-3 ; bill from gape, 1-95 to 2-5. Weight, 8-5 to 1 r o lbs.
Legs and feet dark horny brown ; bill dark horny brown ;
lower mandible pale near base ; irides dark brown.
The facial skin is of two colours—smalt blue and chrome
yellow.
The blue runs from a point in front of and below the nostrils,
where it is palest, to the gape, and from thence in a curved