

2 I 2 GALLIFORMES 



CHAr. 



Space is wanting to describe the various females, or to discuss 

 the sport that Pheasants afford ; but the swift flight, the powers 

 of foot, the polygamous and pugnacious habits, the olive-coloured 

 eggs, and the immense numbers reared artificially, must be 

 noticed.^ P. reevesi, Eeeves's Pheasant, F. versicolor, the Green 

 Pheasant, and P. soemmerringi, the Copper Pheasant, have also been ii 

 introduced into Britain, the two latter and P. torquatus into Oregon, 

 P. colchicus into the Eastern United States ; New Zealand has 

 received both P. colchicus and P. torquatus, St. Helena and Ascen- 

 sion P. torquatus only the former island as early as 1513. 



Catreus wallichi of the Himalayas has a brown head with fine 

 white-tipped crest ; a grey neck, yellowish and whitish upper parts, 

 black and buff" primaries, and a rufous rump, all with black barring ; 

 the under surface is light buff' with black marks, the naked orbits 

 are red. The male has a pair of spurs and very long median 

 rectrices ; the female being brown mottled with black -and buff", 

 having a smaller crest, a shorter tail, and at times rudimentary spurs. 

 Considerable flocks frequent the grassy forest-hills up to an altitude 

 of eight thousand feet, lying very closely in the day-time, though 

 running with great speed when disturbed, and flying heavily for a 

 short way ; they feed towards evening on roots, seeds, berries, grubs, 

 and insects, reiterating the peculiar call, whence they are named 

 " Cheer." The slight nest, generally sheltered by a bush or tus- 

 sock at the base of a hill, contains from nine to fourteen whitish 

 or pale drab eggs, sometimes sparingly spotted with red-brown. 



Pucrasia contains six species or local races of " Pukras " or 

 " Koklas " Pheasants, with long, black, erectile ear-tufts in the 

 male, which has a spur on each metatarsus, but no naked cheeks. 

 P. macrolo])ha of the Western Himalayas has a well-developed 

 buff' crest, a greenish-black head and neck with a white patch on 

 each side of the latter, grey upper parts and whitish flanks with 

 black shaft-stripes, brownish wings marked with buff", chestnut 

 under parts and median feathers of the elongated, wedge-shaped 

 tail, and blackish lateral rectrices with white tips. The black 

 and rufous hen has a white throat, a short crest, and no ear-tufts 

 or spurs. P. castanea of North Afghanistan and Kafiristan has 

 the mantle chestnut, P. nipalensis of the Central Himalayas black 

 varied by grey and reddish ; P. meyeri of South Tibet and the 



^ Much interesting information is given in Yarrell's Brit. Birds, ed. 4, iii. 

 1882-84, pj). 91-104, and Tegetnieier, Pheasa7its : their Nat. Hist, etc., ed. 2, 1881. 



