THE TRUE PHEASANTS. 3 1 



It does not differ in voice from P. torquafus, and begins to 

 breed very early in spring. V/e have heard it as early as the 

 13th of February." 



XV. stone's pheasant, phastanus elegans. 



Phasiamis elegans, Elliot, Ann. and Mag. N. H. (4) vi. p. 312 

 (1870); id. Monogr. Phasian. ii. pi. viii. (1872); Ogilvie- 

 Grant, Cat. B. Brit. Mas. xxii. p. 329 (1893). 



Phasiamis sladeni^ Anderson IMS.; Elliot, P. Z. S. 1870, pp. 

 404, 408 ) Anderson, Rep.Zool. W. Yunnan, p. 671 (1878). 



Adult Male. — In general appearance this species somewhat re- 

 sembles a hybrid between P. colchicus and P. versicolor. Apart 

 from the general bluish slate-colour of the lower back and rump- 

 feathers, which are ornamented with rather wide sub-terminal 

 dark green bands, and the rust-coloured patches on each side 

 of the rump, it has the lesser and median wing-coverts green- 

 ish-grey ; the chest, upper- and middle-parts of the breast, and 

 the sides of the belly dark green; the feathers of the mantle 

 light red with wide dull greenish-bronze margins, and the flank- 

 feathers very similar, but tipped with very dark purplish-green. 

 Total length, 27*5 inches; wing, 9*1 ; tail, 147 ; tarsus, 2*5. 



Adult Female. — Differs chiefly from the female of P, colchicus 

 in havmg the throat and fore-part of the neck white, and the 

 chest and rest of the under-parts barred irregularly ivith black. 

 It nearly resembles the female of P. strauchi, described above. 

 Total length, 21 inches; wing, 7*9; tail, 9'8 ; tarsus, 2*3. 



Ran^e. — South-western China, Western Sze-chuen, and West 

 Yunnan. 



"\Ve can find no record of the habits of this Pheasant ; the 

 two examples sent to the Zoological Gardens by JNIr. Stone 

 were obtained in the Yun-ling Mountains, and it was from one 

 of them that Mr. Elliot took his description. Dr. Anderson met 

 with it on tlie grassy hills in the Momien district of Western 

 Yunnan. 



