THE SILVER PHEASANT. 



Phasia\us nycthemerus. Linn. 



The Silver Pheasant is a much more hardy species 

 than the bird described in the preceding article. It is 

 easily tamed, and may be reduced to a state of domes- 

 tication almost equal to that of the common fowl, which 

 it resembles more closely in its form and manners than 

 any other species of the group to which it belongs. The 

 total length of the male bird is about two feet eight 

 inches. Its cheeks are clothed with an apparently naked 

 skin of a bright red colour, advancing forwards above 

 the eyes so as to form a kind of crest, and terminating 

 in a pendulous fold on each side of the lower mandible. 

 The top of the head is ornamented by a tuft of long 

 black feathers, which fall down over the upper part of 

 the back of the neck. On the sides of the head and 

 neck, the entire surface of the back and wings, and 

 the upper part of the tail, the plumage is of a bright 



