232 PAINTED PHEASANT. 



THE Painted Pheasant is perhaps the most beau- 

 tiful of the genus : its total length is about two 

 feet nine inches : beak and irides yellow : the 

 upper part of the head is adorned with a beautiful 

 glossy yellow crest, composed of loose disunited 

 feathers, resembling rich silk : cheeks nearly bare, 

 and flesh-coloured : the sides of the head livid : 

 the feathers of the occiput are bright orange- 

 colour, square at the ends, and barred with black 

 lines ; they are long, and can be erected at plea- 

 sure, like those on the neck of a Cock : the 

 feathers of the nape of the neck are of a beautiful 

 golden green, with a black stripe at their tips : 

 the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, are bright 

 lively yellow, the latter tipped with crimson-red : 

 the throat is reddish yellow : the under part of 

 the neck, the breast, and the rest of the under 

 parts of the body, are of a rich scarlet : the 

 scapulars are deep blue, changing to brilliant 

 violet : the secondary feathers and wing-coverts 

 are varied with different tints of chesnut and 

 brown : the quills are brown, marked with reddish ; 

 their outer edge is also of the latter colour : the 

 tail is very long and cuneiform ; the two middle 

 feathers being nearly two feet in length, and the 

 lateral ones very short ; the former are varied and 

 marbled with chesnut and black, and the latter 

 are adorned with oblique stripes of those colours ; 

 the rest of the upper parts rich scarlet : the feet 

 are bright yellow : the tarsi are armed with a 

 spur. 



The female is less than the male, and wants the 



