Hybrid Birds 



herst cocks with golden hens, and breed the 

 hybrid hens with the Amherst again, till the 

 strain became practically pure Amherst. The 

 hybrid cock is a more beautiful bird than either 

 pure species, combining the scarlet of the golden 

 pheasant with the larger amount of deep green 

 of the Amherst, and possessing a crest as full as 

 that of the golden pheasant, but of a flaming 

 orange, the red of the Amherst pheasant's crest 

 and the yellow of the golden bird's being per- 

 fectly blended. He often has the pure white 

 ruff of the Amherst, but sometimes it is only of 

 a pale gold. 



On the other hand, the hybrid between the 

 golden and common pheasants seems unfertile, 

 the species being much more remote ; nor can 

 it fairly compare in beauty with either parent, 

 although a handsome bird. At first sight its 

 origin does not seem at all obvious, as the 

 colours and markings of both parents have dis- 

 appeared. The general hue is a rich golden 

 auburn or chestnut, the tail being buff and the 

 neck glossed with purple. The characteristic 

 ruff of the golden pheasant almost disappears 

 in the hybrid, as does also the hackle in fowl- 

 and-pheasant hybrids. 



There is in the Natural History Museum a 

 most remarkable double hybrid pheasant, the 

 offspring of a hybrid between Reeves' pheasant 



17 8 



