446 BRITISH BIRDS. 
species, or we may come to the conclusion that the presence or absence of 
a white collar is not an important character. There appears to be only 
five species in the subgeneric group to which the Common Pheasant 
belongs. P. versicolor is confined to the central and southern islands of 
Japan, and may at once be distinguished by its unspotted metallic green 
underparts ; it is somewhat closely allied to P. elegans from the provinces 
of Setchuen and Yunnan, in South-west China, which principally differs in 
having the flanks golden brown, barred with black like the other Pheasants. 
It is not known that either of these species ever has a white ring round the 
neck; but the Japan bird readily mterbreeds with P. torquatus, which 
seems to be its most nearly allied species. The latter inhabits China, 
South Siberia, Mongolia, and Thibet east of the meridian of Calcutta. 
Like the Japanese and the other Chinese species, the prevailing colour of 
the rump and upper tail-coverts is green, and that of the wing-coverts 
bluish grey, but the breast is copper-coloured as well as the flanks, dividing 
the green of the throat from that of the belly. This species may be divided 
into several races, of which the typical one with the white eye-stripe and 
the white ring round the neck mhabits South-east Siberia, East Mongolia, 
and Hast China. In South-east Thibet and West China P. torquatus var. 
decoliatus occurs, which is distinguished by the absence both of the white 
eye-stripe and the white rimg round the neck. In North-east Thibet 
P. torquatus var. vlangali occurs, differing from its allied races in having 
the centre of the back and shoulders unspotted, and in possessing traces of 
a white collar at the back of the neck. The Formosan Pheasant has also 
been dignified with a name, P. torguatus var. formosanus ; but it only differs 
from the typical form in having a paler ground-colour to the upper back 
and flanks, which are pale buffish white instead of brownish buff. Examples 
from Hankow and the Corea are intermediate. In Mongolia, west of the 
meridian of Calcutta, and in Turkestan P. mongolicus occurs, which may 
_ always be known by its nearly white wing-coverts, and which, like all the 
Pheasants west of the meridian of Calcutta, has the prevailing colour of the 
rump and upper tail-coverts red instead of green. The typical form is 
found in North-west Mongolia and the eastern portion of Russian Tur- 
kestan, and is distinguished by having a broad white ring nearly round 
the neck, but imterrupted in front. ‘The north-east portion of its range 
probably impinges upon the north-west portion of the range of P. torquatus. 
South of the Thian-Shan Mountains, in Chinese Turkestan, P. mongolicus 
var. shawit occurs, which differs from the typical form in having no white 
ring on the neck, and no green reflections on the upper tail-coverts (cha- 
racters which the typicai form may owe to interbreeding with P. torquatus) ; 
but west of this stupendous chain it meets the typical P. mongolicus in 
South Russian Turkestan. Here the two races have apparently interbred 
and produced an intermediate form, P. mongolicus var. insignis (P. chry- 
