The SIKKIM HORNED PHEASANT (_Ceriornis Satyra_) is of a bright carmine-red
on the brow, crown of the head, nape, and shoulders; a broad band, that
passes from the temples to the back of the head, and a narrow line around
the lappet at the throat, are also of the same glowing hue; the upper
back, breast, and belly are red, enlivened with white spots edged with
black; the mantle and upper tail-covers are brown, but each feather is
delicately striped with black, and has a black spot at its extremity;
some of the feathers on the upper wing-covers are also dotted with red,
the dark brown quills are bordered and streaked with dull yellow; the
tail-feathers are black, striped with dark brownish yellow.
The eye is deep brown, and the foot yellowish brown; the fleshy appendages
and lappets are blue, spotted here and there with orange-yellow. The male
is twenty-seven inches long, the wing measures eleven inches and a half,
and the tail eleven inches. The plumage of the female is principally
brown, darkest on the back, and enlivened by numerous black and red spots
and streaks, as well as by the white shafts and dots of the feathers. Her
length is only twenty-four inches, and that of her tail ten inches.
This species, which was the first known to naturalists, inhabits the
Nepaul and Sikkim Himalayas, being more abundant in the former. "I have,"
says Jerdon, "seen it in spring at an elevation of about 9,000 feet above
the level of the sea; and in winter it descends to between 7,000 and 8,000
feet in the vicinity of Darjeeling, and perhaps lower in the interior. It
is frequently snared by the Bhotees and other Hill-men, and brought alive
for sale at Darjeeling. Its call, which I have heard in spring, is a low,
deep, bellowing cry, sounding like "waa-ung-waa-ung." Its general habits
are no doubt similar to those of the _C. melanocephala_, which have been
more accurately described."
[Illustration: THE SIKKIM HORNED PHEASANT (_Ceriornis Satyra_).]