58 GOLDEN PHEASANTS. 



sent thither in 1817, or 1818, and was very 

 probably the specimen from which Temminck's 

 description was given. 



The golden, or painted pheasants, {Phasianus 

 pictus,) now so well known even at home, are, 

 decked in elegant plumage : it can, however, be 

 no compliment to their harmonious blending of 

 colours, to call them painted, although the epi- 

 thet may be considered very applicable to their 

 general gaudy appearance. Their brilliant tints 

 excite more admiration in vulgar minds than the 

 delicate pencilling of the silver pheasant, or the 

 less gaudy but more elegant tinting of plumage • 

 in the Reeves's, or the ring-neck pheasants. The 

 painted pheasant is called Kum, kai,* or Kin, kai, 

 by the Chinese : the eggs of the bird are de- 

 scribed as being white, with brown spots. These 

 beautiful birds are brought from the districts of 

 Che, Kien, and Keang, nan. 



The male of this bird, when courting the fe- 

 male, or bullying the males, conceals the purple 

 feathers of the wings with the golden feathers of 

 the back, at the same time bringing those fea- 

 thers, seen like a hood upon the back of the 

 neck, forward, and concealing the bill ; thus, 



* In the common Canton dialect, Kum signifies gold ; but 

 in the Mandarin dialect, Kin is the name for gold ; so that 

 this bird is named both Kum, kai, and Kin, kai. 



