Letters, Announcements, b^c. 131 



grey, with six irregular transverse bars and a whitish tip, but 

 with no tinge of rufous. The under surface is marked very 

 much as is represented in 'The Ibis' for 1874, Plate X., but 

 with considerably more white on the abdomen, owing to the 

 brown streaks being fewer and narrower ; the thighs and 

 under tail-coverts are also white, with a few streaks of brown, 

 varying in both length and breadth. The wings in this spe- 

 cimen show a remarkable approach to the plumage of the 

 adult male : the whole of the lesser wing-coverts are white, 

 but with a broad sagittate mark of dark brown in the centre 

 of each feather, the same coloration being extended over the 

 bend of the carpal joint, and along the anterior edge of the 

 wing to the commencement of the greater coverts ; the black 

 band which, in the adult male, extends from the neighbour- 

 hood of the carpal joint to the tips of the tertials, is, in this 

 specimen, represented by a corresponding band of dark cho- 

 colate-brown, varied by some of the brown feathers passing, 

 in part, into a decided black, and by a few white spots in 

 that part of the band which is near to the carpal joint ; 

 that portion of the wing which is grey in the full-plumaged 

 male is also grey in this female, but with transverse bars of 

 dark brown as in the ordinary plumage of male specimens of 

 intermediate age. 



The principal measurements of this female are as follows — 

 wing from carpal joint 15*8, tarsus 3*3, middle toe s. u. r45. 



I am, &c., 

 Northrepps, Norwich. J, H. Gurney. 



3rd December, 1876. 



Sir, — In the October number of 'The Ibis' for 1875, Dr. 

 N. Severtzoff, in a paper upon some new Central-Asian birds, 

 gives descriptions of three Pheasants, which he calls respec- 

 tively Phasianus semitorquatus, Phasianus chrysomelas, and 

 Phasianus persicus. 



Of the first of these Dr. Severtzoff seems to be undecided 

 about the specific distinctness from P. mongolicus. Without 

 having seen the specimen, I am of course unable to give any 

 decided opinion ; but it is not improbable that it may be only a 



