1914] Beebe: Preliminary Pheasant Studies. 283 



Genus Phasianus. 



My studies of the birds of this genus are not complete and 

 I shall not touch upon them at present except in the following 

 pages with reference to the soemmerringii group. 



Genus Syrmaticus. 



This genus has heretofore contained but a single species, 

 reevesi. As the result of careful comparative study I have ex- 

 panded it to include five additional species, as follows : 



Syrmaticus reevesi Gray. 



Syrmaticus ellioti (Swinh.). 



Syrmaticus humiae (Hume). 



Syrmaticus burmanicus (Gates). 



Syrmaticus mikado (Grant). 



Srymaticus soemmerringii soemmerringii (Temm.) . 



Syrmaticus soemmerringii scintillans (Gould). 



Syrmaticus soemmerringii ijimae (Dresser). ' 



A superficial glance at the males of such pheasants as 

 Reeves, Elliots, Mikado and Copper shows a diversity of color 

 which seems to have nothing in common. But in the greatly 

 elongated and narrowed central rectrices and a number of other 

 characters we find that they agree, and differ from the other 

 nearly related genera. In the females also we find real criteria 

 of relationship. 



Taking females of these six species and placing them side by 

 side we are at once struck with the great similarity of their 

 rather specialized colors and patterns. Comparison with the 

 corresponding sex of related genera emphasizes this similarity. 



The following tabulated characters will serve to illustrate 

 this: 



Syrmaticus Females. 



a — Lateral rectrices always dominantly rufous; with sub- 

 terminal black and terminal white bands. 



b — Breast solidly or heavily marked; belly wholly or dom- 

 inantly white. 



