140 POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 



Japanese, Elliott, Hume and Soemmerring pheasants, all of 

 them fine, showy birds. Like the Amherst, the Reeves 

 Pheasant has a very long tail, which in fully adult or old 

 male birds often attains a length of five feet. When you 

 see in captivity a pheasant with an enormously long tail, 

 it is safe to assume that it is either an Amherst or a Reeves. 



The Soemmerring Pheasant, (Phasianus soemmerringii}, 

 sometimes very aptly called the Copper Pheasant, is a native 

 of Japan, and a bird of which any country might well be 

 proud. In size, form and length of tail it matches the com- 

 mon ring-necked pheasant. Its head and neck plumage is 

 of a warm copper-bronze tint, but its most beautiful colors 

 are found in the elaborate cross-bar markings of its tail. 

 The pattern of the latter reveals first a strong cross-bar of 

 chocolate brown, above that a broad band of fawn-color, 

 and this blends into a mottling of black on cream-color, 

 edged across with black. 



The True Ring-Necked Pheasant, (P. torquatus), of China, 

 brings to view a question that frequently is asked regarding 

 the English Pheasant, (P. colchicus), which is the common 

 species of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, and of 

 Great Britain and other continental areas by introduction. 

 We are asked, "Has the English Pheasant a white ring 

 around its neck, or not?" 



The answer is, the true, pure-blooded English, or Common 

 Pheasant, (P. colchicus), has no ring around its neck; but so 

 many persons have crossed the true Ring-Necked Pheasant, 

 of China, with that species that in many flocks of the former 

 species the majority of the individuals are of mixed breed, 

 with necks perceptibly ringed, yet passing as English Pheas- 

 ants. As a matter of fact, in England to-day, pure-blooded 

 English Pheasants are rare. Both the English and Ring- 

 Necked species have been successfully introduced into sev- 

 eral portions of the United States. 



While on this subject, we will here record the fact that 

 the name Mongolian Pheasant, as often applied to the Ring- 

 Neck, is a misleading error. The real Mongolian Pheasant, 

 of Turkestan, (P. mongolicus) , is a species of such extreme 

 rarity that it is almost unknown, alive, in the United States. 

 In the interest of accuracy, that name should be used only 

 with extreme caution. 



The Argus Pheasant, (Argusianus argus), is a bird with a 

 great reputation for beauty, but as seen alive in zoological 

 collections it does not always come up to expectations. Both 

 its secondary feathers which when fully developed are of 



