The CHINQUIS, or ASSAM PEACOCK PHEASANT (_Polyplectron chinquis_), the
most beautiful of the four species of the above group with which we
are acquainted, has the head of a greyish brown, delicately dotted and
lined with black; the lower neck, breast, and centre of the belly are
brown, striped with brownish black, and spotted with light yellow; the
mantle-feathers are greyish yellow, marked with small greyish black
lines; each feather being decorated with an ocellus having a green centre
and glossy purple border; the feathers of the back, rump, and large
tail-covers are pale brown, spotted and marked with brownish yellow,
and have a similar green and purple spot, surrounded by a black rim.
The eye is bright yellow and the foot black. This species is twenty-two
inches long, but of these ten inches are included in the tail. The hen is
distinguished by less showy plumage, the slight excrescences that replace
the spurs upon her foot, and the shortness of her tail.
[Illustration: THE CHINQUIS, OR ASSAM PEACOCK PHEASANT (_Polyptectron
chinquis_).]
The countries of Assam, Silhet, Arucan, and Tenasserim, as far as Mergui,
may be regarded as the habitat of this species, which received from
Linnæus, who erroneously believed Thibet to be its native country, the
name of the Thibet Peacock; and even now we are but little acquainted
with its habits, owing to its shy disposition, and the preference it has
for the innermost recesses of dense forests. In "Ornithognomon's" "Game
Birds of India" is one of the most interesting of the few notices we
possess. "I have never," says the writer, "shot this bird; and, indeed,
only once came upon it. This was in a narrow path leading along a ridge
about 3,000 feet above the sea, in the mountains on the British side of
the Thoungyen River, which separates Tenasserim from Yohan in Siam. It
started so suddenly, having apparently been dusting itself in the path,
and shot so rapidly across the jungle, through the _kud_, that had it not
left two or three of its feathers behind I should not have known what
bird I had flushed. I am not aware of any English sportsman having ever
bagged one of these Pheasants; and, indeed, it frequents such inaccessible
places as effectually to defy approach. The mountains in the tropics rise
to a height of six or eight thousand feet above the sea, and from 6,000
feet downwards are clothed with such a dense mass of trees, thickets,
underwood, bamboos, and thorny rattans, all bound together by creepers and
tangle, that it would be an hour's labour to cut any one's way through
100 yards of such stuff. I have, however," says the same writer, "kept
these Peacock Pheasants in captivity, which they appear to bear tolerably
well, but never become thoroughly tame. They were incessantly uttering a
soft, low cluck, but emitted at times a cry or crow, being the same cluck
loudly and rapidly repeated."
Two males of this species were sent by the Baba Rajendra Malhik to the
London Zoological Gardens in 1857, and another pair in 1863, of which
the female died; another female was obtained in 1864, which bred several
times, and thus many particulars concerning their economy were learned.
"Thus we know," says Mr. Sclater, "that two or three broods in a year are
produced by the same pair, and are often covered by her tail, that the
normal number of eggs is two, and that they are peculiarly delicate in
form and colour, assimilating very closely to those of the Golden Pheasant
(_Thaumalea picta_)--they are of a cream-colour, or buffy white, nearly
two inches long, by one inch and seven-sixteenths broad."
Mr. Ellis, in his monograph on the _Phasianidæ_, states that Mr. Bartlett,
superintendent of the Zoological Gardens, London, told him that the first
time the young of this species were hatched in the Gardens, a Bantam Hen
was employed as a foster mother, and the chicks would follow close behind
her, never coming in front to take food, so that in scratching the ground
she frequently struck them with her feet. The reason for the young keeping
behind was not understood, until on a subsequent occasion two chicks were
reared by a hen Chinquis, when it was observed that they always kept in
the same manner behind the mother, who held her tail widely spread, thus
completely covering them, and there they continually remained out of
sight, only running forward when called by the hen to pick up some food
she had found, and then immediately retreating to their shelter. It was
thus rendered evident that the young, in following the Bantam Hen, were
simply obeying the instincts of their nature, although the upright tail of
their foster mother failed to afford them the protection which they would
have found had they been reared by a female of their own species.
* * * * *
The PEACOCKS (_Pavones_) are distinguished from all other members of their
family by the superiority of their size, and the extraordinary development
of the feathers of the upper tail-covers. Their bodies are powerful; the
neck moderately long, head small, wings short, and legs high; the beak is
strong, arched at its culmen and hooked at the tip; and the foot of the
male is armed with a spur. The crown of the head is adorned with a crest,
formed either of long and slender or short bearded feathers. The region of
the eye is bare. These fine birds only attain their full beauty when three
years old.
The Peacock is a native of the East Indies and Ceylon, and is represented
in Assam, the Sunda Islands, and Japan by the _Pavo nigripennis_. All
the members of this glorious group frequent woods and jungle, preferring
mountainous districts. On the Neilgherries and mountains of Southern India
the _Pavo cristatus_ is frequently met with at an altitude of 6,000 feet
above the level of the sea; but it is not found in the Himalayas.
Williamson tells us that these splendid creatures abound chiefly in
well-wooded localities, where there is an extent of long grass for them
to range in. They are very thirsty birds, and will only remain where
they can have free access to water. "About the passes in the Jungleterry
districts," continues the same authority, "I have seen such quantities
of Pea Fowls as have absolutely surprised me. Whole woods were covered
with their beautiful plumage, to which a rising sun imparted additional
brilliancy. The small patches of plain among the long grass, most of them
cultivated, and with mustard then in bloom, which induced the birds to
feed, added beauty to the scene; and I speak within bounds when I assert
that there could not be less than twelve or fifteen hundred Pea Fowls
of various sizes within sight of the spot where I stood for more than
an hour." When on the wing they fly heavily, generally within an easy
shot, but if only winged speedily recover, and if not closely pursued
will nine times out of ten disappear. The capture of the Peacock is by
no means a safe pursuit, for Williamson tells us that wherever that bird
and the spotted deer abound the tiger will generally be a visitor; thus
the borders of jungle containing such game are highly dangerous. At the
season when the peepul berries and figs are in season their flesh is
rather bitter; but when they have fed for a time among corn-fields, the
flesh of the young is remarkably sweet and juicy. The nest is formed among
thick shrubs or on high garden walls, or even on the roofs of houses. When
the young are bred in an elevated situation, they are said to be carried
to the ground by the parent on her back. The eggs, from four to six in
number, are hatched within thirty days, and within three months of their
birth the sex of the young is easily recognisable. When domesticated, the
Peahen requires to be kept perfectly undisturbed during the period of
incubation, or she will desert her little family.