572 Mr. S. A. Buturlin on 



of the feather, thus not uniting — or very narrowly so — the 

 apical wedges). Scapulars glossy fiery-golden, inner creamy- 

 white and black pattern divided by a narrow U-shaped black 

 line from the golden marginal part of the feathers concealed 

 by overlying feathers ; most of them not only spotted apically 

 but also margined broadly — about 1-2 mm. — with glossy 

 black (in P. zarudnyi, P. zerafshanicus, and P. gordius 

 scapulars with no, or quite obsolete, black margins). E,ump 

 and upper tail-coverts dark purplish coppery-red (in P. prin- 

 cipalis and P. zerafshanicus rufous brick-red). 



Under parts of a light rufescent golden ground-colour (in 

 P. principalis and P. zerafshanicus paler, nearly golden 

 straw-yellow), flank-feathers tipped with glossy black and 

 some of them with dark purplish red, and sides of the breast 

 with glossy black margins. All the chest- and most of the 

 breast-feathers very broadly margined with purple- red, these 

 margins being about 3 mm. broad on the middle of the chest 

 (in P. jn'incipalis somewhat narrower, about 2-2^ mm., and 

 in P. zerafshanicus very much narrower, about 1 mm., but in 

 P. gordius still broader, about 3-4 mm.) . Belly rusty brown, 

 edged above by glossy purplish. Lesser and median wing- 

 coverts white. 



This description is based on two adult male specimens 

 procured in January 1905 by Mr. Petersen in the Oxus 

 Yalley near Chardjui in Middle Bokhara, and now in the 

 possession of my friend Baron Harald V. Loudon in 

 Lisden, near Wolmar. This species evidently inhabits the 

 parts of the middle Oxus Valley higher up the river than 

 P. zarudnyi of Khiva and. Lower Bokhara, and lower down 

 than P. gordius, which is met with in the mountainous parts 

 of Bokhara. 



2. Phasianus gordius. {Karnas Pheasant.) 

 P . principalis : 1908, Alpheraky and Bianchi, Ann. Mus. 

 Zool. Ac. St. Pet. xii. p. 440. 



This bird, named by Messrs. Alpheraky and Bianchi after 

 the mythical King (jordius, is known from a single adult 

 male specimen shot on the 5th (17th) February, 1899, by 

 Mr. Iljiuykh at Karnas, some 50 miles from Karki higher up 



