PHASIANIDiE.' 361 



FAMILY III. 



Phasianid.e. The Pheasants. 



Gen. Chaeac— Bill moderate, with the culmen arched to the tip, which over- 

 hangs that of the lower mandible, and the sides compressed ; the wings 

 moderate and much rounded ; the tail more or less lengthened and broad ; 

 the tarsi moderate, usuallj^ armed with a spur or spurs ; the toes moderate, 

 the anterior toes united at their base by a membrane, the hind toe short 

 and elevated. 



The birds of this family, some of which are among 

 the most elegant and splendid of their class, are 

 nearly all inhabitants of the Eastern hemisphere, 

 only two species being found in America ; and even 

 in the Old World their distribution is almost exclu- 

 sively restricted to the warmer parts of the Asiatic 

 continent and its dependent islands. They may all 

 be classed under the following sub-families : — the 

 Peacocks, the true Pheasants, the Jungle-fowls, the 

 Turkej^s, and the Monauls. 



