296 Secondary Sexual Characters in Pheasants 



condition of plumage, of such a nature that the two extremes of the scale 

 of patterns would undoubtedly, if found in the cTcfj have been classed 

 separately. Now though these might account in some measure for the 

 widely divergent patterns met with in the series we are considering, yet 

 'they do not furnish us with the real clue to the origin of those colours 

 and patterns found in the legs and plumage of "J5^," "BBA" ''BBBA" 

 and inter se ''BBBA" ? $ ; thus, in one area, the crest (which has the 

 same structure, pattern and colour in both "5" and "Z" varieties of 

 Silver $ ), the characters of the female of "J." parent can be clearly 

 traced in every adult J throughout these four generations, and in 

 several other plumage areas (with the exception of one or two of the 

 birds) the characters of the female of "A" parent are present. 



"Wild females of the Silver Pheasant vary considerably individually 

 in the characters of the outer tail-feathers and the feathers of the breast 

 and flanks. 



As regards the outer tail-feathers, in some specimens they are 

 black with oblique mottled lines of white ; in others they are very 

 finely vermiculated with black and brownish-white ; and all intermediate 

 gradations are to be found. 



Young birds have the breast and flank-feathers uniform brown ; in 

 older birds the breast and flank-feathers may be either finely or coarsely 

 marked with black and white. 



These remarks are based entirely on wild shot birds from China." 



DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 



PLATE XXII. 



CHEST. 

 Fig. 1. "jB" Silver ?. 



Fig. 2. ".J" Swinhoe ?, female of "J" parent species. 

 Fig. 3. ''BA" t\, ".i" ?. 

 Fig. 4. "J5.4"Fi, "C" ?. 

 Fig. 5. "i?J"Fi, «D'' ?. 

 Fig. 6. "B^" Fi, "A" ?. 

 Fig. 7. "B£^"i^'2, "^" ?. 

 Fig. 8. ''BBB.V 1\, "J" ?. 

 Fig. 9. '^BBBA'' 1\, "C" ?. 

 Fig. 10. ''BBBA" F3, "P" ? . 



Fig. 11. ''BBBA'" inter se, h\, "il/" ?. Anterior, a ; posterior, h. 

 Fig. 12. ''BBBA'' inter se, F^, ''K'' ?. Anterior, « ; posterior, 6. 

 Fig. 13. ''BBBA'" inter se, h\, "C" ? . Anterior, a; posterior, h. 

 Fig. 14. ''BBBA" inter se, F\, " F" ?. Anterior, a; posterior, b. 

 Fig. 15. " BBBA '^ ijiter se, Fi, ''G'' {mut&tion). Anterior, a; posterior, h. 

 Fig. 16. "i^" Silver j (male of "jB" parent species) transition plumage, a, Breast; 

 h, Scapular. 

 " BBBA " F3, *'P" ? . c. Lateral rectrix. 



