530 PHASIANID/E. 



Feathers of crest webbed throughout their whole length ; head, neck and 

 breast brilliant green ; scapulars, tertiaries and lesser \vingcovertsuniform and 

 unbarred rufescent ; facial skin blue above and round the eyes ; deep yellow on 

 the remainder of the face ; wing coverts violet blue, edged with pale greenish 

 yellow ; quills rufescent. Legs and feet dark horny brown ; irides dark brown. 



Length. To end of true tail 40 to 48 inches ; train projects beyond end of 

 tail from 24 to 44 ; wing 16*75 to 1 9'7S 5 ta il from vent 15*5 to ij'$ ; tarsus 

 5-5 ; bill from gape 1*95 to 2*5. 



Hal. British Burmah, extending north as far as Chittagong; east 

 through Siam to Cochin-China, and south down the Malay Peninsula. 



Gen. Argusianus. Rafin. 



Bill short and strong ; upper mandible deflected at the tip, convex ; nostrils 

 basal lateral ; head naked ; tail long. 



1188. ArgUSianuS argUS (Zz.), Gates, B. Br. Burm.\\. p. 313. 

 Phasianus argus, Linn., Syst. Nat. i. p. 272. Argusianus giganteus, BL, B. 

 Burm.Tp. 148. Argus giganteus, Elliot, Mon. Phas.'i. pi. II; Hume and 

 Dav., S/r. F. vi. p. 427 ; Hume, Sir. F. viii. p. I IO ; Hume and Marsh., Game 

 Birds i. p. 99, pi. Argusa giganteus, Kelharn, Ibis, 1881, p. 530. The 

 ARGUS PHEASANT. 



Head, cheeks, chin, and gular region naked and slaty blue ; some bristly 

 feathers on the occiput black, forming ear-like tufts ; back of neck huffish, 

 minutely spotted with black ; lower neck, breast and upper back reddish 

 chestnut, also minutely streaked and speckled with black ; lower back and 

 rump bullish, lighter on the rump ; upper tail coverts dark vinaceous, thickly 

 and closely variegated with ocelli. Wing coverts buffish, thickly freckled and 

 speckled with dark brown ; tertiaries longer than the primaries and beautifully 

 ocellated ; tail with the centre feathers much elongated ; breast and upper abdo- 

 men ferruginous, finely vermiculated with ziz-zag lines. The female is duller in 

 colour and wants the elongated tertials and tail feathers, otherwise as in the 

 male. 



Legs and feet from pale to bright red, 



Length of the Male. 68 to 70 inches ; tail about 50; wing to end of pri- 

 maries 18 ; tarsus 4-7 ; bill from gape up to 2. Length of Female. About 30 

 inches ; tail 12 ; wing 17; tarsus 3*6 ; bill from gape up to 17. 



flab. Tenasserim in the extreme south, where it was observed by Mr. 

 Davison in the forests about Malewoon and Bankasoon and the higher portions 

 of Pakchan. It extends down the Malay Peninsula, and is found in Sumatra. 

 According to Davison they are confined entirely to the evergreen forests. The 

 male and female live quite solitarily. The males, Mr. Davison says, have a 

 peculiar habit of selecting a piece of ground some six or eight yards square, 



