THE CHINESE PHEASANT. 97 
‘zigzag and crescentic marks of buffy white; lower part of the back, rump, and 
upper tail coverts light green of various shades, passing into bluish-grey at the 
sides, below which is a mark of rufous; breast feathers indented at the tip, of a 
rich reddish chesnut, with purple reflections, and each bordered with black; flanks 
fine buff, with a large angular spot of beautiful violet at the tip; centre of the 
abdomen black, with violet reflections; under tail coverts reddish chesnut; wing 
coverts silvery-grey; wings brown, the primaries with light shafts, and crossed with 
narrow bars of light buff; the secondaries similar, but not so regularly marked as 
the primaries; tail feathers olive, fringed with different shades of reddish violet, and 
crossed at regular intervals with broad, conspicuous black bands, passing into 
reddish-brown on the sides of the basal portion of the six central feathers; Dill 
yellowish horn-colour; irides yellow; feet greyish-white. The female has the whole 
of the upper surface brownish-black, with a margin of buff to every feather; the 
throat whitish, and the central portion of the under surface fawn colour; flanks 
mottled with brown; tail buff, barred with dark brown, between which are other 
interrupted bars of the same hue. These marks are broader on the two central 
feathers than on the others, and, moreover, do not reveal the edge on either side.’’ 
Closely allied to the ordinary Chinese pheasant is a bird which has been 
described as a distinct species by Consul Swinhoe, under the title of the Ringless 
Chinese Pheasant (P. decollatus). It was obtained by him at Chung-king-foo, in 
Szechuen, and a somewhat similar bird was procured by Pére David at Moupin, 
near the Thibetan boundary. I cannot but regard these birds as more than mere 
local varieties of the ordinary Chinese species, and must refer those who wish to 
trace the slight distinctions between them to Mr. Elliot’s “ Phasianide,” in which they 
are figured. In the same magnificent folio will be found engravings of the Mongolian 
Pheasant (P. mongolicus), the Yarkand Pheasant (P. insignis), and Shaw’s Pheasant 
(P. shawii); all closely allied to the common Chinese species, if not merely to be 
regarded as geographical variations from it. None of these forms are known in a 
living state in Europe, and consequently do not require detailed notice in the 
present work. 
