190 PHEASANT. 



— a musical note of no great power, and not at all such as would 

 be expected from a Pheasant. 



Elliot's Pheasant, Phasianiis ellioti, is another hardy Pheasant 

 from the mountains of Ningpo. It was first introduced into Europe 

 in 1874, but it has only recently reached England. It is a very 

 handsome variety, of moderate size and great beauty. The cock 

 has a red back and breast, with a crescent of black across its 

 centre. Its rump feathers are steel-black, with a central bar of 

 white, and the under parts of its body are white. Its metallic tints 

 are fine, and Mr. Swinhoe thinks it one of the most magnificent of 

 the Pheasants for colour and size. It is a Pheasant that promises 

 exceedingly well, but its character in our coverts has yet to be 

 proved. It lays early in the season, beginning as early as March 1 5. 



The Copper Pheasant of Japan, Soemmerring's Pheasant 

 (Phasianus scemmeri7igii)^ is another exquisitely beautiful variety. 

 "The most beautiful of all true Pheasants," says Commodore Perry, 

 "and for richness and brilliancy of colour, will vie with almost any 

 other species of bird." " The whole body presents a golden 

 brilliancy not exceeded by any object of nature, for the metallic 

 lustre of its feathers is equal to the most brilliant markings of the 

 Humming Bird," is the report of it given by Dr. Wilson, of the 

 United States' navy. This Pheasant was introduced into England 

 in 1864, and bred in the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park, in 

 1865. The cock Soemmerring's Pheasant is, however, of a most 

 fierce pugnacious disposition, and Bluebeard-like, frequently kills 

 his wives. He is a most difficult bird therefore, to manage in 

 confinement, and has not yet been tried at large, when this ferocity 

 would probably be toned down to practical limits. 



There are upwards of twenty other varieties of the true 

 Pheasant, which may be reared and kept in aviaries, or at 

 large, by those who choose to do so ; but those already given in 

 addition to our own, viz., the versicolor^ Reeves', Elliot's, and 

 Soemmerring's Pheasants, are the finest and most beautiful birds ; 

 the best adapted to ornament our parks and woods, and to give 



