THE GOLDEN PHEASANT. 61 



cheeks, which are of a hvid complexion. The feathers 

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

 green and gold and bordered with black : those of the 

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

 latter terminating in a crimson border. Over the base 

 of each wing is a broad patch of deep blue passing 

 almost into violet ; the wing-coverts and secondary 

 quill-feathers offer various shades of chestnut and 

 brown ; and the primary quill-feathers are marked with 

 reddish spots upon a brown ground. The tail-feathers 

 are variegated 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 of a dusky brown; 

 and all the rest of the under surface, including the neck, 

 the breast, and the abdomen, is of a bright scarlet. 

 The iris is bright yellow, as are also the bill and legs, 

 but with a somewhat lighter tinge : the latter are fur- 

 nished with moderate-sized spurs. 



In the female, as is usual in this tribe of birds, the 

 colours are infinitely less splendid than those of the 

 male. The upper parts are of a rusty brown varying 

 in intensity ; the under surface is marked with spots of 

 a deep brown on a lighter ground ; the throat is nearly 

 white ; the wings are transversely barred with black ; 

 and the tail, which is considerably shorter than that of 

 the male, is variegated like the wings. 



These magnificent birds are natives of China ; and it 

 was warmly maintained by Buffon, in accordance with 

 his theory of the degeneration of animals, that they 

 were merely a variety of the Common Pheasant, which 

 had assumed a more splendid plumage in consequence 

 of the superior fineness of the climate in which they 

 dwelt. Unfortunately for this hypothesis the Common 

 Pheasant is also widely spread throughout the same 



