PHASIAKUS. BIRDS- 273 



Gen. 3. PHASIANUS, Lin. 



Bill short, thickened, naked at the base, bent towards the tip ; 

 nostrils basal and lateral ; cheeks naked, warty ; ears covered ; 

 three toes before, united to the first joint, and one behind ; 

 tarsi furnished with spurs in the males; tail elongated, cu- 

 neiform, and composed of eighteen feathers ; wings short. 



The beautiful and elegant birds comprised under this genus are all natives of 

 Asia, frequenting woody situations, and subsisting on seeds and insects. The fe- 

 males produce many young at a brood, which they foster for some tirne^ like the 

 domestic hen. Their nests, which are rudely constructed, are formed on the ground. 

 The young, when tirst hatched, are clothed with a soft down. 



P. Colchicus, Lin. Common Pheasant. The male rufous, with the 

 head and neck blue, shining with green and gold, and variegatect 

 with black and white ; cheeks furnished with red papillae ; breast, 

 belly, and flanks purple-chestnut ; tail very long, with transverse 

 black bands. 2 feet 11 inches long. The female is smaller, and 

 brown-gray, varied with reddish and dusky Selby, Illust. pi. 57 

 The Pheasant i& supposed to have been originally introduced from Asia ; but it is 

 at present diffused -over most of the southern and temperate regions of the old con- 

 tinent, and has been met with even as far north as Bothnia and Siberia. 



P. pictus, Lin. Painted or Golden Pheasant. Crest yellow ; fea- 

 thers of the occiput brown, varied with black lines ; body golden 

 yellow above, scarlet beneath, secondary quills blue ; tail cunerft- 

 ed. 2 feet 9 inches long. Inhabits China. Edw. pi. 68, 69. 



Gen. 4. LOPHOPHORUS, Tern. Phasianus^ Lath. 



Bill long, thick, much bent, broad at its base ; upper mandi- 

 ble arched, very long, extending much beyond the under one, 

 edged at its extremity ; ridge elevated ; nostrils basal, lateral, 

 half shut by a thinly feathered membrane ; tarsus covered 

 with feathers on its upper part ; a long and sharp spur ; three 

 fore toes united by membranes, hind toe elevated ; tail short, 

 rounded ; head crested. 



L. refulgens, Tern. Body above with splendid purple feathers, the 

 margins brass-coloured ; beneath black, with a brassy tinge; tail 

 cinnamon-coloured, rounded. 2 feet long. Inhabits India. 

 Shaw, xi. pi. 15. 



L.' Cuvieriy Tern. Plumage black, with a violet gloss, the feathers 

 marked with grayish zigzag lines ; rump and tail-coverts tipped 

 Avith a broad white zone ; crest composed of long decomposed fea- 

 tliers, with short webs ; cheeks naked. 18 inches long Shaw, 

 xiv. pi. 36. . 



Gen. 5. POLYPLECTRON, Tem.Diplectron, Vieill. Pavo, Lin. 



Bill middle-sized, slender, straight, compressed ; upper mandi- 

 ble bent down towards the tip ; nostrils lateral, iri the middle 

 of the bill, half covered by a naked membrane ; orbits and 

 cheeks naked ; legs slender, fore toes united by membranes ; 

 VOL, i. s 



