GOLDEN PHEASANT. 175 



ated, and hang over the sides of the neck ; and^ like the 

 crest, they are also capahle of being elevated or depressed 

 at pleasure : the cheeks are livid, and are only partially 

 furnished with a few short hairs: the feathers on the 

 back of the neck are tinged with a mixture of green and 

 gold, bordered with black : the back and the upper tail 

 covers are bright yellow ; the latter being terminated by 

 a black border : over the base of each wing is a broad 

 patch of deep blue, passing into a violet tinge : the wing 

 covers and secondary quill feathers have various shades 

 of chestnut and brown : the tail feathers are varied with 

 chestnut and black ; the colours being disposed in oblique 

 rays upon the lateral quills ; immediately above the base 

 of the tail, the feathers are of a beautiful scarlet : the 

 throat is dusky brown ; and all the rest of the under 

 plumage bright scarlet : the legs, bill, and irides are pure 

 yellow. The tarsi are armed with moderate-sized spurs. 



The female, like all others of the rasorial group, is 

 much ])lainer coloured than the male. The upper plumage 

 is rusty brown ; the under, marked with deep brown 

 spots on a lighter ground : the throat is whitish; and the 

 wings are crossed with black bars : the head is crested, 

 but the feathers are brown, and shorter : the tail, also, is 

 much less developed than in the male. 



The eggs are said to resemble those of the Guinea- 

 fowl ; being redder than those of the pheasant. The 

 food given to these birds in confinement, is various sorts 

 of grain, as rice, hemp, wheat, &:c. ; but they will also 

 eat cabbages, herbs, leaves, fruits, especially plums (.''), 

 and insects: the latter, it is said, is their favourite food; 

 and the difficulty of procuring a sufficiency is thought 

 to be one of the causes of disease. The female deposits 

 her eggs about ^larch ; and the young, which are hatched 

 in twenty-three days, require three years to attain their 

 perfect or adult plumage. 



