SPORT IN WESTERN CHINA 117 



Golden Chicken). To write it savours of vandalism, but 

 this bird is really excellent eating, though there is little of 

 him. Two or three guns properly posted, with some trained 

 beaters or Sussex spaniels, might enjoy good sport after Golden 

 Pheasants in the regions given above, but the work would 

 involve plenty of hard climbing. 



LADY Amherst's pheasant 



West of the Red Basin this Pheasant {Chrysolophus 

 amherstice) takes the place of the Golden Pheasant. The 

 exact boundary line between the two species is difficult to 

 determine, but I have not seen or heard of them being found 

 in the same region. On Wa shan and Mount Omei and the 

 jungle-clad regions west of these high mountains, the Amherst 

 is abundant. North of Kuan Hsien he crosses the Min River, 

 but the eastern limit everywhere is the western edge of the 

 Red Basin ; north of lat. 32° he quickly disappears. 



The habits and haunts of this bird are similar to those of 

 the Golden Pheasant ; the altitudinal range is from 3000 feet to 

 about 10,000 feet in the south-west, and 8000 feet in the north- 

 west of Szechuan. In these regions dwarf-growing Bamboos 

 are a feature of the vegetation, forming absolutely impenetrable 

 jungle. Such is the natural home of this bird, and though in 

 season he is heard calling on all sides he is seldom actually 

 seen. The Amherst is a very noisy bird, with a call very like 

 the Golden. In the dense thickets it is of course impossible 

 to shoot this bird, but in the early morning and late afternoon 

 he is to be found in cultivated areas bordering the thickets, 

 and occasionally a lucky snap-shot rewards the sportsman. 

 The flight is similar to that of the Golden, and the natives 

 entrap him in the same way. In the mountains bordering the 

 Chiench'ang Valley in south-west Szechuan this bird must be 

 very abundant, for the tail-feathers and cape are common 

 articles of export from this region. They are used in Chinese 

 theatricals in the same way as the tail-feathers of the Reeves 

 Pheasant. The cape is also used in west Szechuan to adorn 

 the caps of favourite male children. 



In the adult male the crown, upper back, and breast are 



