THE



265



Avicultural Magazine,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF

THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY.



Third Series .— Vol. VI.—No. 9. —All rights reserved. JULY, 1915.



THE MIKADO PHEASANT.


(Calophasis mikado).


By Mrs. JOHNSTONE.


The first intimation of the existence of the Mikado Pheasant

was announced by Mr. Walter Goodfellow on his return from an

expedition to Formosa in 1910. During his stay there, in pursuit

of live birds of all sorts, he entered into conversation with a friendly

native, and noticed that the man was wearing in his hair a peculiar

Pheasant tail-feather; he asked to be allowed to see it and the man

immediately presented him with it.


He recognised that the feather belonged to no known species

of Pheasant, and hearing the birds were to be found on Mount

Arizan, he made an expedition there, hoping to obtain skins, at any

rate. In this he was so far successful, that he secured an adult hen

only ; so the colouring of the male bird, with the exception of the

tail-feather, still remained a mystery.


In 1911, the present Lord Rothschild sent Japanese collectors

to Formosa, and they returned with several adult skins of both

sexes, but no living specimen.


In January, 1912, Mr. Goodfellow started on another expe¬

dition, with the express purpose of obtaining living specimens, and

in the following October returned with eight cocks and three hens.

To obtain these birds he formed two camps on Mount Arizan at

7,000 feet and 8,000 feet respectively. He found the Pheasants

very scarce, and, after some months of patient work, he and the

natives succeeded in trapping thirteen living specimens. Two of



