File:Indian sporting birds (1915) (14747450601).jpg

Identifier: indiansportingbi00finn (find matches)
Title: Indian sporting birds
Year: 1915 (1910s)
Authors: Finn, Frank, 1868-1932 Hume, Allan Octavian, 1829-1912 Marshall, Charles Henry Tilson, 1841-
Subjects: Birds -- India Game and game-birds -- India
Publisher: London : Francis Edwards
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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constant toits roosting-trees and even keeps to the same bough, so that it iseasily located by its accumulated droppings. It generally goesin pairs or only three or four together, and the cocks fight muchin the breeding season. Although in the higher parts of its range hard-set eggs havebeen found at the end of July, at the other end of its zone, lowdown, they may be laid in March, no one seems to have seenany sort of a nest constructed, the eggs being laid in grass orunder cover of bush, fern, or rocks on the ground itself. Humenever heard of more than ten eggs in a clutch, and their colourvaries from pale brown to pinkish cream-colour. Purple or Horsficlds Kalij. *GenncBus horsfieldi. Dorik, Assam. Like the last species, this bird has the native name Muthura,and it is certainly allied to it, though more nearly to the next tobe mentioned. It differs from the three most typical kalijes inhaving the underparts black with feathers of the ordinary rounded * Euplocamus on plate. \ ^ifj^-
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a UJ lZ(f)cc CDJZ oCO o PURPLE OR HORSFIELDS KALIJ 189 shape, not pointed; from this it is often called the black-breastedkalij, a rather misleading name, as it gives the impression thatthe black breast contrasts with the upper surface, which is notthe case. In fact, the bird is the most simply and uniformly-coloured of all our pheasants, its purple-glossed black plumagebeing only relieved by white bars on the lower back. The crestis long and narrow. The hen bird is very similar to the hens of the three white-breasted kalijes, both in plumage and crest; the only specialpoint she shows is the contrast between the reddish-brown of thecentral tail-feathers with the more olive-brown of the rump ;but the difference is slight, and she can hardly be picked outfrom the others above-mentioned, while curiously enough shehas no such near resemblance in colour to the hen of the lineatedpheasant next to be dealt with, a much closer ally. The purple or black-breasted kalij is a hill-bird like the g

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