//// i> i \ / Ml 



are oaken -brown changim: t" I'urpl- on the -<lg of tli.- <>ui. md barred with j.-tty black 



mi tin- oiitei \M -i :ni<l brown on tin- inner. The breast ami front of tin- abdomen are golden red 

 with purple rell.N-tioiiN. and diM-r-ifn-d l.\ the Mark edge uf earh feaihei ; the rest of the 

 aMomen ami under tail coverts are blackish brown. In total length the full-grown male 

 Pheasant is almnt three feet. Tin- female i^ much nnm- soU-r in her colon* and Ions in sin 

 than her mate, her Unly l>eing of a pale \ t-llow blow n. .m.| her length only some to f.-et. 



TUB gorgeous bird whirh is now known by the name of REEVES' PHEASANT, but whi< -h 

 has undergone so man \ clum^es of title. N a Mttve of Simnagur and Northern China. 



It is a truly remarkable liinl, for although its 1 tody does not surpass th* ordinary Pheattant 

 in iz, th- total It-nut h of u full-^n>wn male will ofti-n e\i-e.il .-ii:lit ft^-t, owing to the very great 

 development of the two central tail-feathers, which alone will ini-asure .six ami seven feet in 

 length, and are MTV i'l- at the l>asi-. Thi- species has !>een bniught alive to foreign countries 

 ami |>lacel in the Zoological Gardens and aviaries, when- it throM- tolerably e|| ; ami was 

 sntlici,-ntl\ hanly to warrant a hope that it might l>e acclimatized to moderate climates. Its habits 

 in a wild state are little known, but those sjM-cinirns which have been kept in captivity liehuved 

 much like the ordinary Pheasant. Although so splendid and highly colored a bin!, it inhabits 

 MTV cold regions, the mountains of Surinagur being covered with snow. In that country it is 

 known by the appropriate name of l>ooni<lumur or Long-tail. 



No amount of artificial coloring could give the full effect of the gorgeous and ever- 

 changing lieaiity which adorns the plumage of this magnificent bird ; while the simple black 

 and white of an engraving gives but a M-IV faint notion of its real magnificence. The 

 absence of colors must, therefore, be faintly supplied with a brief descri] it ion in words. 



The head is white, except a patch of light scarlet naked skin around the eyes, edged by a 

 band of black which runs over the forehead, under the chin, and is rather broader over the 

 ear-coverts. The neck is also broadly collared with white. The back of the neck, and the 

 back itself are covered with shining scale-like feathers, each being a light golden-yellow and 

 edged at the extremity by a band of deep velvety-black, thus producing an extremely rich 

 appearance. The feathers of the breast and abdomen are snowy-white, I winded and tipped 

 with the same velvety-black a-* those of the upjter i>art.s with the exception of the middle of 

 the breast and abdomen, which are deep black, and the under tail-coverte, which are also black 

 covered with golden -yellow spots. The two cent nil feathers of the tail are delicate gray, 

 covered with numerous transverse and rather curved bands of rich dark brown, edged with a 

 lighter tint of the same color. In one of these feathers, only four feet in length, Mr. Tem- 

 minck counted forty-seven bands. The remaining feathers of the tail are grayish-white, also 

 profusely barred with deep brown, and passing into chestnut at their edges. They can be 

 folded over each other, and they appear very narrow. 



Two very lovely birds are shown in the next illustrations, one glowing like the sun in the 

 full radiance of gold and crimson, and the other shining like the moon with a soft silvery 

 lustre, not so splendid, but even more pleasing. 



The GOLDEN PHEA~ \N i i- a native of China, where it is a great favorite, not only for its 

 splendid plumage and elegant form, but for the excellence of its flesh, which is said to surpass 

 in delicacy even that of the common Pheasant. 



I-'. >r the purposes of the table, however, it is hardly likely to come into general use, as then- 

 are great difficulties in the way of breeding it in sulficient number, and one feels a natural 

 sensation of repugnance to the killing of so l>eautiful a bird merely for the sake of eating it. 

 As it is a tolerably hanly bird, bearing confinement well, and breeding fn-ely, it has Iwen 

 turned out into preserves with the common Pheasant, but as yet without sufficient success to 

 warrant the continuation of the experiments. 



This bird, together with another which will be briefly mentioned, is remarkable for the 

 large ruff of broad squared feathers whi-h folds round its neck, as well as for the finely de\. -I 

 oped crest. This crest is of rich gold.-n-yellow with a timre of carmine. The feathers of the 

 ru (Tare squared, and di.siH>s-d in a scale-like fashion : their color is rich orange edged with 



