PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY 



when non-erect, completely hides the aural openings, though 

 the tuft is usually erect during the pairing season. The 

 bases of the feathers are in touch with an erector muscle 

 in front of the ears. The aural openings are large and 

 circular. The feathers clothing one-half, or a little more than 

 one-half of the neck, are beetle-green in colour, but under 

 different illuminations may appear electric blue, or other 

 allied shades. Viewed in strong sunlight, the colour is that 

 of intense emerald. 



The feathers on the lower portion of the neck, when 

 seen singly, have their margins tipped with green, below 

 which is a reddish-orange, and still lower down the feather 

 is greyish-brown. The neck feathers are smallest above, 

 but at the base of the neck and junction of the breast, they 

 are about 2 inches in length and very abundant, being 

 densely crowded. On either side of the breast, partly under 

 cover of the wing, the feathers are tipped with the same 

 deep green or purple, but the major portion of each is 

 reddish-orange. The bulk of the breast feathers are of 

 a brownish-black colour, with dark-green margins ; the front 

 portion of the back exhibits a remarkable variety of colour- 

 ing. On the lower portion of the shaft of each feather, 

 there is a downy covering, the e.xposed portion being alone 

 attractive. In the outer zone, the colour is reddish-yellow, 

 slightly green at the tip. Inside the reddish-brown colour, 

 there is another zone of green, and within this again a buff- 

 colour, succeeded by a central zone of blackish-brown feather- 

 ing. The remaining feathers of the back are very abundant, 

 and each is about 3 inches in length. They are a deep 

 foxy colour, and reflect from their tips a bluish - green 

 coloration. 



The lower portions of the breast and the thighs are heavily 

 clothed with feathers of a deep reddish-brown. The quills 



26 



