1914] Beebe: Preliminary Pheasant Studies. 281 



part, but here and there with an evanescent narrow fringe, white 

 on the lesser, rufous on the greater coverts. 



The tail is entirely free from gray or sandy color, and 

 only the shorter upper tail-coverts show even the buffy-white 

 fringe of the rump. The longer ones are similar to the central 

 rectrices, chestnut with a central line of black. The chestnut 

 persists strongly even on the outer feathers, while the narrow 

 white fringe is most pronounced on the outer ones and dies out 

 before it reaches the central feathers. 



On the under parts the dark chestnut is developed only 

 to about the same extent as in macrolopha, except of course on 

 the side neck, where it joins that of the mantle. But I have 

 seen individuals of otherwise typical macrolopha, which had 

 more ventral chestnut than any Nepal bird. The sides of the 

 breast and belly show no trace of ashy, but are dull jet black, 

 with, as on the wing-coverts, adventitious hints of whitish 

 fringe. This is wider and more distinct on the flanks. The 

 under tail-coverts are rich light chestnut. 



There is not a single character quoted above which may 

 not be found in all conditions of gradation between the extreme 

 here described and the extremely pale form of macrolopha. 



It differs from the castanea off -shoot in combining intense 

 melanism with increased erythryism, while castanea shows the 

 latter only on the mantle and ventral surface. 



Adult Female. — The females, within much more narrow 

 limits, show as much variation as do the the males, but the 

 extreme reached through a series of gradual steps shows de- 

 cided erythryism, both on the dorsal and ventral surfaces. The 

 whites of macrolopha become buffs; the buffs of the western 

 form are warm rufous buffs in nipalensis. 



PUCRASIA XANTHOSPILA AND ITS ALLIES. 



As we have seen, the Koklass Pheasants of the extreme 

 western Himalayas and of central Nepal develop chestnut man- 

 tles. Those of Tibet and of Northern China acquire a less ex- 

 tensive but very distinct yellow dorsal collar. This is foreshad- 

 owed in about twenty per cent of macrolopha macrolopha, in 



