86 THE SILVER PHEASANT. 



naked skin, of a bright vertnillion tint, advancing forwards above 

 the eyes, so as to form a kind of crest, and terminating in a pen- 

 dulous fold on each side of the lower mandible. The top of the 

 head is ornamented by a tuft of long, black feathers, which fall 

 down over the upper part of the back of the neck. On the sides 

 of the head and neck, the entire surface of the back and wings, 

 and the upper part of the tail, the plumage is of a bright, silvery 

 white, transversed with the greatest regularity, by an infinite 

 number of finely-pencilled black lines, passing obliquely in the 

 form of chevrons, across the feathers, from which it is called the 

 pencilled pheasant. A striking contrast to this delicacy of tint is 

 afforded by the uniform, purplish black, of the fore part of the neck, 

 breast, and under surface of the body. The two long tail feathers 

 are perfectly white in their extreme half; the iris is of a brownish 

 orange ; the bill yellowish, but becoming dusky towards the point; 

 the legs deep red ; the spurs long, sharp, and white. In the female, 

 the red of the cheeks is much less extensive ; the top of the head 

 has a kind of crest, of a dusky brown ; the neck, breast, and upper 

 surface, are of an earthy brown, the lower of a dingy white, with 

 a mixture of brown, and crossed with blackish bands ; the quill 

 feathers are nearly black, and the tail variegated with black, white, 

 and brown. 



This elegant species inhabits the north of China, where it is 

 frequently kept in a tame state, whence it has been imported into 

 Europe. It thrives even better, in domestication, than the com- 

 mon pheasant, and is easily bred, and may be readily propagated 

 in the open country, which has already been successfully at- 

 tempted ; but they will not suffer the approach of the common 

 pheasant, into any preserve in which they are kept. 



All the pheasants, when in a growing state, are subject to 

 attacks of illness, mostly originating from too damp an atmo- 

 sphere, too violent a circulation of cold wind, or the want of 

 insectivorous matter, with which nature provides them, in a wild 

 state. The next frequent attack, is that of the gapes, occasioned 

 by an intestinal worm, which, lodging in the windpipe (trachea), 

 causes death by suffocation. Garlic is sometimes given with 

 advantage, and may be made a strong infusion in the drink of the 

 birds ; or a clove cut and put down their throat ; and chives or 

 young onions chopped small, and mixed with meal, may be given 

 very beneficially, once or twice a day, as their food, in the early 

 stage of the distemper, and before the violent irritation of the 

 vermes has caused inflammation. Fumigation is recommended 

 in an advanced state of the disorder ; the inhaling of the smoke 



