318 Zoologica: N. Y. Zoological Society. [I; 17 



thinly and finely striped with white are over-run by a few large 

 white-stripes ; in the same manner as we have seen in the 

 complex hybrids Nos. 47-49, which have 1/2 of lineatus, % of 

 muthura and % only of nycthemerus. We might believe that 

 in this series the character of lineatus might dominate, because 

 represented by one-half, and because the two sexes of this 

 species have taken part in its genealogy. We might also expect 

 that the % of muthura would dominate over the single Vs of 

 nycthemerus and have the effect of rendering the series darker. 

 Instead the % nycthemerus dominates in a way to cause the 

 contraction of the bands and shows how small a quantity of 

 blood of this last may be sufficient to originate, by crossing 

 with lineatus, a form identical with sharj^ei." 



Gennaeus ripponi. 



To this form should be joined jonesi, as the two are indis- 

 tinguishable from the published descriptions. I knew that rip- 

 poni was supposed to cover considerable territory in Yunnan and 

 the Shan country, and indeed I found the birds in western Yun- 

 nan and as I have related, a very closely pigmented individual in 

 northeastern Burma. Not, however, until I had access to an un- 

 expected and unusually large amount of material was its wide 

 distribution proved beyond doubt. For a year or more a 

 Chinaman had assiduously collected Silver Kaleege Pheasants 

 in various parts of Yunnan and the Northern Shan States, and 

 when he had gathered six large bales, he boxed them up, labelled 

 them "ducks' feathers" and shipped them via Bhamo to Rangoon, 

 en route to the milliners of Europe. But the custom officials at 

 Rangoon, having had previous experience with Chinamen, in- 

 vestigated and in place of the feathers of domestic ducks, found 

 hundreds of skins of Silver Kaleege, with a scattering of Lady 

 Amherst and Burmese Bar-tailed Pheasants. The bales were 

 promptly confiscated and condemned, and at the moment when 

 awaiting destruction I was fortunate enough to come across the 

 great mass of skins. I began at once to set official machinery in 

 motion and with the help of a very amiable collector of Customs 

 and Dr. Annandale of the Indian Museum, the entire lot was 

 turned over to me. I spent considerable time studying the frag- 

 ments, and later the best skins were picked out and sent to me. 



