li. llAUi 'rilU.MAS 209 



of the female of his species, but also the moral (jualifcie.s and the size 

 of thi^ egg, were transmitted by the male parent to his female offspring. 



Three exj^crinients of inter se mating ha\e hern nia<ic, one with 

 Thannialea, one with Oeimaens, one with I'hasianns; some of the results 

 of oni' have been pnblished'. but fui'ther trials have been undertaken to 

 test tht; results rt'corded in tha(r paper, which are not yet completed. 

 The other two inter se crosses, Ueiinaeus nyc. x Gennaeus swinhoei, and 

 Ph. forinosanus x Pli. versicolor fui-nish a great number of cases of 

 pattern and colour transmission which will not be dealt with here. 

 A separate paper on these inter se experiments is contemplated later on. 



Of the four brothers of F„ "BAA " extracted female Swinhoe {P. Z. S. 

 1910, pp. 884-885), one only F., "BAA " male, " D" was used to breed 

 with ; the quarrelsome tempers o( F., "BAA " males, "A." " B" and "C," 

 which necessitated separation, never abated, even after the mating 

 season was ended ; two of these three males F.^ " A " and F., " B " were 

 especially interesting; though the plumage was very dark and Swinhoe 

 in coloration it was hybrid, but the point of importance was the discovery 

 that both had the Series 1 mutation on breast and tlank, and the 

 manner of its Occurrence was further proof of the source of that 

 mutation. In these two birds the mutation begins at the junction of 

 the interscapulars, which are Swinhoe type, with the marginal anterior 

 breast feathers leading directly on to the centre breast and flank. The 

 marginal feathers commence with a broad pattern like the interscapulars, 

 the pattern gradually narrowing* as the mutation extends and spreads 

 over the centre of the breast, and creeps down the flanks. The derivation 

 was thus traced in all stages in the clearest manner through a perfect 

 series of pattern gradations, confirming the theory previously held of 

 the origin of the Series 1 breast and flank mutation. The other 

 "BAA" F.2 male "0" was a nearly pure type Swinhoe, but the back 

 feathers were margined with burnished copper like the scapulars in 

 place of blue lustre like the type ; also in the tail the centrals showed 

 both colour and pattern-transference, being rufous with a black pattern 

 like the female Swinhoe laterals ; this case of transference luas a trans^ 

 mission by the male parent to his male offs})ring of the female characters 

 of his species. 



Series 1"-" in tlie pediijree. F., "BAA " male " /) " was a pure type 

 Swinhoe ; the records note that no difference could be distinguished 

 in any character between this bird and a male Swinhoe in the next 



> I'roc. /.ool. Hoc. 1911, " On Experiraeutal Pheasant Breeding," Eose Haig Thomas. 



17—2 



