PHEASANT SHOOTING. 91 



whole pheasant family. They are excellent eating, and grow very 

 fat. They range from the Himalayas to the Manchurian forests, and 

 include about eight species. Bu-ds from Manchuria find their way 

 into the Tientsm ixiarkets. The three species found in China are, 

 Pucrasia darwini from Eastern China, P. xantJiospila from Western 

 China, and P. styani from the region of the Yang-tze. 



In Manchuria the pucras pheasants are very common. During the 

 colder months of the year they collect in bouquets of ten to fifteen 

 but, owing to the dense forests they frequent, do not offer very good 

 sport. Their Chinese name in Manchuria is Hsu Chi (Tree hen), or 

 Sung Chi (Pine hen). 



An interesting group of pheasants is formed by the blood pheasants 

 of West China. Three species have been described from China. One, 

 Ithagenes sinensis is found in the Ching-ling Mountains of South 

 Shensi. Not unlike the pucras pheasant, but with softer feathers, this 

 bird has a grey crest, neck and back, green flanks, carmine belly and 

 red legs. The second species, /. geoffroyi, is abundant in Western 

 Szechuan, along the Thibetan border. The third species, /. icilsoni 

 also occurs in Szechuan, but more to the south. 



Last, but not least, come the eared-pheasants, of which there 

 are two distinct species. One of these, the Manchurian eared-pheasant 

 {Crossoptilon mantchuricuni) is found from Western Shansi, through- 

 out the high mountainous regions of North Chihli into Manchuria. 

 This species has a black head, black neck, breast, shoulders and wings. 

 The back, the upper tail coverts and the anterior portion of the large 

 and handsomely curved tail are grey-white. The throat is pure white, 

 white feathers extending on either side of the head into long ear-like 

 tufts, giving the bird a ferocious appearance. The face is naked and 

 red, as in the common pheasant, the beak is horn-coloured and the 

 legs are carmine. In size this pheasant equals a small turkey, weighing 

 about 7 lbs. Altogether it is a very striking bird. As a sporting bird it 

 has few equals; as an addition to the cuisine none. 



In Kansu, and westward into Thibet this species is replaced by 

 another form {C. auritum), which includes three local races, or 

 sub-species {C. a. harmani, C. a. levcurutn and C. a. tihctaniim). 

 By some these local races are considered as distinct species, by others 

 mere varieties of one species ; but as we are not concerned with the 

 quarrels of the learned, so long as they ultimately give us some names, 

 whereby to distinguish the numerous varieties of animals and birds, we 

 will leave the matter with them, contenting ourselves by noticing that 

 a difference in plumage does exist. 



