the True Pheasants. 573 



the river Oxus, and procured by S. N. Alpheraky through 

 Th. C. Lorenz, of Moscow. It is now deposited in the 

 Academical Museum of St. Petersburg. 



The authors give no description^ but only a short diagnosis 

 stating that this bird is collarless, has broad (about 3 mm.) 

 purple margins on the chest and no black margins on the 

 scapulars. These characters fit collarless specimens of P. 

 zaimdnyi* as well, but on examining the type specimen I 

 find that it evidently forms a well-marked species of the 

 purplish-breasted group of Pheasants, only resembling P. 

 tshardjuensis in the purplish-red colouring of the chest 

 extending to the uppermost part of the back and quite 

 superseding there the golden ground-colour. From P. 

 tshardjuensis P. gordius differs in having most of the scapu- 

 lars without any black margins^ only with apical spots, and 

 in having the purplish red colouring still more largely deve- 

 loped on the feathers of the upper back, as well as on those 

 o£ the chest, breast, and sides. 



This bird inhabits the Oxus Valley in Upper Bokhara 

 higher up the river than P. tshardjuensis^ presumably 

 between Karki and Kelif and perhaps somewhat higher up. 



* I mean the true P. zarudnyi Butuii. (=P. medius Zarudn. 1896 — 

 not " 190C," by the way, as quoted by Messrs Alpheraky and Bianchi — 

 nee Milne-Edw. 1870), a bird with hroad purple feather-margins on the 

 chest and breast. Messrs. Alpheraky and Bianchi's {I. c. pp. 4.30, 436) 

 diagnosis of "P. zarudnyi'^ exactly fits specimens of P. zerafskanicus 

 with normal breast-colouring {narrow purplish margins and no black apical 

 shaft-streaks) and less developed collar; and theii- diagnosis of P. zeraf- 

 shanicits&ts such specimens of this last species that have more developed 

 collar, but are aberrant in the chest- and breast-colouring (having apical 

 black shaft-streaks, an exceptional feature in all this group of Pheasants 

 but sometimes developed in specimens of the Zerafshan bird). Does 

 " P. zarudnyi'^ apud Alpbei*. and Bianchi mean some uudescribed form 

 with narrow chest-margins (as may be presumed from the habitat given 

 by them — " Termez " on the Amu-daria in Upper Bokhara, where true 

 P. zarudnyi is not likely to occur), or only a synonym of P. zerafshanicus 

 (as may also be presumed from the fact that the sportsmen from the Oxus 

 Valley often label their specimens " Amu-daria," though in fact they are 

 procured on Zerafshan, some hours oif by rail, J?r/e Bar. liar. V. Loudon) ? 

 I cannot decide this point now, but their biid is not the bird named 

 " P. zarudnyi " by me. 



