Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

THE SIKKIM HORNED PHEASANT (Ceriornis Satyra).

THE JEWAR, OR WESTERN HORNED PHEASANT.

The JEWAR, or WESTERN HORNED PHEASANT (Ceriornis melanocephala), differs from the species last mentioned principally in the predominance of black in the coloration of the under side. In the male the feathers on the top of the head are black, with red tips; the nape, upper part of the throat, and shoulder are scarlet; the feathers on the mantle dark brown, ornamented with very delicate black lines and, towards their extremities, with small black-edged white spots. The feathers on the breast and belly are black, spotted with white, and slightly shaded with red; the quills are pale black, spotted and edged with brown; the tail is black, striped with brown and white at the ends of the feathers. The eye is nut-brown, the bare patch that surrounds it bright red, while the fleshy horns are pale blue; the lappets on the throat are purple, dotted with light blue at the sides, and bordered with flesh-pink; the beak is horn-grey, and the foot reddish. The male is from twenty-seven to twenty-eight inches long, and from thirty-five to thirty-six broad; the wing measures ten inches and a half; and the tail ten inches. The plumage of the female is varied with different shades of brown and black on the upper parts of the body, and with greyish brown, black, and white on the under side; the back is enlivened by pale yellow markings, and the under side by irregular white spots. The length of the female is twenty-three inches, the breadth thirty-one inches and a half; the wing measures nine inches and a half, and the tail eight inches and a half. (See Coloured Plate [XXX].)

These birds are found from the western borders of Nepaul to the extreme North-west Himalayas; they are not very common near Simla and Mussooree, but are more plentiful near Almora.

"Their usual haunts," says "Mountaineer," "are high up, not far from the snows, in dense and gloomy forests, where they live either alone or in small scattered parties. In winter they descend the hills, and then their favourite haunts are in the thickest parts of the forests of oak, chestnut, and morenda pine, where the box-tree is abundant, and where under the forest trees a luxuriant growth of 'ringalt' or the hill bamboo forms an underwood in some places almost impenetrable. They keep in companies of from two or three to ten or a dozen or more, not in compact flocks, but scattered widely over a considerable space of forest, so that many at times get quite separated and are found alone." Jerdon tells us, "that if undisturbed, they generally remain pretty close together, and appear to return year after year to the same spot, even though the ground be covered with snow, for they find their living then upon the trees. If driven away from the forest by an unusually severe storm or any other cause, they may be found at this season in small clumps of trees, wooded ravines, or patches of low brushwood.

"At this season, with the exception of its cry of alarm when disturbed, the Jewar is altogether mute, and is never heard of its own accord to utter a call or note of any kind; unlike the rest of our Pheasants, all of which occasionally crow or call at all seasons. When alarmed it utters a succession of wailing cries, not unlike those of a lamb or kid, like the syllables 'waa, waa, waa,' each syllable uttered slowly and distinctly at first, and more rapidly as the bird is hard pressed and about to take wing. Where not repeatedly disturbed, it is not particularly shy, and seldom takes alarm till a person is in its immediate vicinity, when it creeps slowly through the underwood, or flies up into a tree, in the former case continuing its call till again stationary, and in the latter till it has concealed itself among the branches. If several are together all begin to call at once, and run off in different directions, some mounting into the trees, others running along the ground. When first put up they often alight in one of the nearest trees; but if again flushed the second flight is generally to some distance, and almost always down-hill. Their flight is rapid, and the whirr produced by the wings peculiar, so that even when the bird is not seen it may be distinguished from any other species. Where their haunts are often visited, either by the sportsmen or the villagers, they are more wary, and if such visits are of regular occurrence and continued for any length of time, they become alert in a very high degree; so much so that it is impossible to conceive a forest bird more shy or cunning. They then, as soon as aware of the presence of any one in the forest, after calling once or twice, or without doing so at all, fly up into the trees, which near their haunts are almost always evergreens of the densest foliage, and conceal themselves so artfully among the tangled leaves and branches that unless one has been seen to fly into a particular tree, and it has been well marked down, it is almost impossible to find them. In spring, as the snow begins to melt on the higher parts of the hills, they entirely leave their winter resorts, and gradually separate and spread themselves through the more remote and distant woods, up to the region of birch and white rhododendron, and almost to the extreme limits of forest. Early in April they begin to pair, and the males are then more generally met with than at any other period; they seem to wander about a great deal, are almost always found alone, and often call, at intervals, all day long. When thus calling, the bird is generally perched on the thick branch of a tree, or the trunk of one which has fallen to the ground, or on a large stone; the call is similar to the one they utter when disturbed, but it is much louder and only one single note at a time—a loud energetic 'waa,' not unlike the bleating of a lost goat—and can be heard for upwards of a mile. It is uttered at various intervals, sometimes every five or ten minutes for hours together, and sometimes not more than two or three times during the day; its purport most probably is to invite the females to the place. When the business of incubation is over, the broods, with the parent birds, keep collected together about one spot and descend towards their winter resorts as the season advances; but the forests are so densely crowded with long weeds and grass that they are seldom seen till about November, when these have partially decayed, so as to admit of a view through the wood."

The Jewar feeds chiefly on the leaves of trees and shrubs: of the former the box and oak are the principal ones; of the latter, thugall and a shrub something like privet. It also eats roots, flowers, grubs, insects, acorns, seeds, and berries of various kinds, but in small proportion as compared with leaves; in captivity it will eat almost any kind of grain. Though the most solitary of our Pheasants, and in its native forests perhaps the shyest, it is the most easily reconciled to confinement; even when caught old it soon loses its timidity, eating readily out of the hand, and little difficulty is experienced in rearing it.

"The Jewar," says Jerdon, "roosts in the trees; and in winter, perhaps for warmth, seems to prefer the low evergreens, with closely interwoven leaves and branches, to the larger trees which overshadow them."