50 THE PHEASANT SUBFAMILY 



pheasant, P. torquatus, and of the Japanese pheasant, P. versicolor, 

 cannot be determined, but we may reckon it from the end of the 

 eighteenth century. The pheasant as we know it to-day is a blend 

 of these three species, the ring-necked being the dominant element. 

 The wild parent species of this bird ranges from the lower Amoor, 

 Manchuria, Corea, Japan, and Eastern Mongolia through Northern 

 and Eastern China as far south as Canton. The Japanese pheasant, 

 P. versicolor, as its name implies, is confined to Japan, though 

 not met with in Yezo. It is decidedly the smallest of the three, 

 but is an extremely handsome bird, and hybrids between this and 

 the Chinese pheasant are remarkable both for their great size and 

 singular beauty. 



During the last few years yet other species have been turned 

 down, of which especial mention may be made of the Mongolian 

 pheasant, since this may now be regarded as established among us, 

 at any rate locally. It is a very handsome bird, and of large size. 

 Its most striking features are the great width of the white collar, which 

 is interrupted in front, and the large area of white in the wings, 

 formed by the wing-coverts. The mantle and breast are of a bronzy- 

 orange-red shot with purple-carmine and green, according to the 

 incidence of the light, while the rump is of a deep maroon, glossed 

 with green and purple. Little seems to be known of its habits in a 

 wild state, and this on account of the remoteness of its haunts, which 

 range, as Mr. Ogilvie-Grant remarks, from the valley of the Syr-Darya 

 across the basin of Lake Balkash as far east as Lake Saisan and the 

 valley of the Black Irtish, and southwards to the valley of the Hi and 

 Issik Kuhl. 



Inasmuch as the pheasants can be interbred with wonderful 

 facility, and since species whose ranges overlap interbreed freely in 

 a wild state, it has been contended, and there are some who still 

 contend, that what most of us regard as good species are only 

 entitled to subspecific rank. But this argument is not valid, for the 

 same readiness to interbreed is displayed by the Anatidse, and few 



