398 



GALLINyE.- 



-BIRIIS.- 



- Phasianid.e. 



also been imported into Europe, in the milder parts of 

 wliich it breeds freely in the aviaries. The female is 

 of a dull brownish colour, with black transverse bars. 



THE SILTEK PHEASANT {Phasianus nycthemerus) 

 — Plate 19, tig. 71 — which is also a well-known bird 

 in our aviaries, is a native of the northern parts of 

 China. It is ao active, powerful, and handsome bird, 

 having the head adorned with a crest of elongated 

 purplish-black feathers, and the whole of the upper 

 surface and tail white, but with each feather of the 

 back and wings delicately pencilled with black lines. 

 The two central tail-feathers, which are much elon- 

 gated, are pure white ; the lateral ones are streaked 

 with black ; and the whole lower surface is of the 

 same deep purplish-brown colour as the crest. The 

 naked space surrounding the eye is of very large size, 

 and of a bright Vermillion colour. The female is 

 grayish-brown above and white below, marked with 

 irregular black bars. 



THE FIRE-BACKED PHEASAUT (Eiiplocomus igni- 

 tus) — Plate 19, iig. 69 — an inhabitant of Sumatra, is a 

 large and handsome species. It measures about two 

 feet in length, and has the principal part of its plumage 

 of a beautiful slaty-black colour. The crown of the 

 head is adorned with a crest of slender feathers, with 

 naked shafts, and its sides are covered with a naked 

 bluish-purple skin ; the feathers of the lower part of 

 the back are of a most brilliant, fiery orange colour, 

 whence the name of the species ; the tail is somewhat 

 forked, the feathers being turned out on each side 

 towards the apex, somewhat as in the well-known 

 black cock ; the central feathers are white, the lateral 

 ones black, with green reflections. The female is a 

 smaller bird than the male, and of a general cinnamon- 

 brown colour. 



THE IMPEYAN PHEASANT (Lnj)hophm-ns Impeya- 

 nus) — fig. 124 — another splendid Indian species, is an 

 inhabitant of the mountains of Nepaul and the Hima- 



Fig. 124. 



Tlie Impeyan Pheasant (Lophoplionia Impeyanusj. 



laya. The plumage of the upper surface of this Phea- 

 sant exhibits the most brilhant changing tints of green, 

 blue, violet, and golden bronze, with an intense metallic 

 lustre. The head bears a crest of elongated feathers, 

 generally drooping towards the back of the neck. These 

 plumes have a slender naked shaft, terminated by an 

 oval lustrous lamina. Low down on the back there 

 is a broad band of pure white, and the tail is ample, 

 rounded, and bright chestnut. The lower surface is 

 nearly black. The length of the male is rather more 

 than two feet. The female is smaller, and reddish- 

 brown, varied with spots and bars of black ; the back 



of the head bears a few elongated feathers, and the 

 front of the neck is white. 



THE ARGUS PHEASANT {Argus gigantetis), one 

 of the most remarkable and magnificent species of the 

 present family, is an inhabitant of several of the larger 

 islands of the Eastern archipelago. The most singular 

 feature in the structure of this bird is the great devel- 

 opment of the secondary wing-feathers, which are 

 nearly three times as long as the primaries, and very 

 broad. The body of the Argus Pheasant is not much 

 larger than that of an ordinary fowl, but the total 

 length of the male is between five and six feet, owiug 



