4 PHEASANTS 



mentioned here, seventeen are easily re- 

 cognized by the crown of the head being 

 green; in covert or in captivity these 

 will all interbreed freely with fertile off- 

 spring, the original parent, with all his 

 dignity of English and Latin names, being 

 soon merged in some perfectly healthy 

 and prolific form of mongrel. The re- 

 maining two, the copper pheasant of 

 Japan, and the Reeves pheasant of N.W. 

 China, with reddish and white crown to 

 the head respectively, are the exceptions 

 to this general rule. They differ very 

 much in appearance from the rest of the 

 true pheasants, and although they will 

 interbreed with them (as indeed will many 

 other allied species commonly known 

 as pheasants, but not entitled to the 

 scientific designation of " Phasianus," such 

 as the well-known Gold, Silver, and 

 Argus pheasants), their offspring is not 

 usually fertile, and the cross soon dis- 

 appears. 



It may be of interest to note that 

 all the typical pheasants given in the 



