NOTES FROM THE SCOTTISH ZOOLOGICAL PARK 31 



NOTES FROM 

 THE SCOTTISH ZOOLOGICAL PARK 



Female Birds in Male Plumage. — Two very interesting 

 instances of the assumption by female birds of the colours of the 

 male have occurred in the Zoological Park. The first case the 

 writer noticed was that of a Prince of Wales Pheasant, of which 

 variety a pair Avas presented to the Park early in 19 14. They 

 appeared to be a normal pair, and the hen was known to have 

 laid one or two eggs in the spring of 1915, although they were 

 not fertile. The cock died towards the end of 19 15, and the 

 hen, at her next moult after his death, began to show the colouring 

 of the male. After her 19 17 moult, her colouring was almost 

 exactly that of the male bird, though she still retained the bearing 

 and gait of the hen, and had no spurs. She died before completing 

 another moult. The second instance occurred — or, one might 

 say, is occurring, since the bird is still alive — in a hybrid between 

 Amherst Pheasant and Golden Pheasant, which was bred in the 

 Park in 19 16. Several birds were hatched from the same nest 

 of eggs, and at the time when the males among them had assumed 

 their full plumage, the bird under notice remained in the sober 

 mottling of browns, characteristic of tlie hen. It was regarded as, 

 and undoubtedly was, a hen, and as such, was placed, along with 

 some others, with a male bird for breeding purposes, in the 

 summer of 191 7. The male bird was seen to pay attention to 

 it, though there was no evidence of any eggs having been laid by 

 it. During the moult of 19 17, however, it also began to develop 

 some of the colouring of the male. Crest, cape, mantle and 

 general body plumage were coloured very much as in the male 

 Golden Pheasant, the only difference being that the feathers of 

 the cape were short, badly formed, and irregularly placed. The 

 tail feathers also resembled those of the cock, but, curiously, 

 the colouring of the wings remained entirely that of the female 

 bird. After the moult in 191 8, the colours of head, cape, and body 

 were somewhat brighter, but the colour of the wings still remained 

 typical of the hen. With succeeding moults, however, the wings 

 also began to reflect the process of sexual change taking place in 

 the bird. At the time of writing, the wing shows still some 

 indication of the brown barring of the female, but intermixed with 

 it are a considerable number of feathers showing colour as 



