244 



CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



^^^ "Am 



KEEVES' PHEASANT 



(Phasiamts Reei'esii, or P. veiieratiis). 



redder. China 

 is the native 

 land of this 

 beautiful spe- 

 cies, which is 

 there very 

 abundant in 

 wood -covered 

 tracts. 



"These 

 birds," says 

 Latham, 

 " were first 

 in troduced 

 into England 

 under the 

 name of Bar- 

 bary Phea- 

 sants, by the 

 Duke of Nor- 

 thumberland, 

 and many 

 were bred and turned out at large at Alnwick. Other 

 noblemen and gentlemen have done the same, and thus 

 the breed has become numerous. Birds of this species 

 mix and breed with the Common Pheasant, and thus 

 present much variety in their plumage, some having a 

 well-defined and others a narrow and imperfect ring 

 around the neck ; the feathers of the flank, also, do not 

 present the pure colouring either of P. iorquatus or of 

 P. Cokhicus." 



Living specimens of this species have bred so abun- 

 dantly in the gardens of the Zoological Society that birds 

 and eggs have been transmitted to different parts of the 

 country. The flight of the Chinese Ring-necked Phea- 

 sant when started is both rapid and direct, and is often 

 continued to a considerable distance before the bird 

 again enters the cover, 



THE JAPANESE PHEASANT. 

 The Japanese Pheasant {Pkasiamcs versicolor) has 

 the head green and the upper part of the neck shaded 

 with blue ; the nape and entire under side are dark 

 green, deepening to pale black at the sides and centre 

 of the belly ; the mantle-feathers are blackish green, 

 suiTOunded by a horseshoe-shaped line of reddish yellow. 



