6o A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



The forehead is warm orange rufous, the hind crown somewhat darker, shading 

 into a rich mahogany on the wing-coverts, back and the very long tuft of caudal down. 

 The nape is indistinctly mottled with paler buff. The head is remarkably uniform in 

 colour, the face and a superciliary line being pale yellow buff like the throat. The under 

 parts are uniformly buff, the chin and throat quite cream-coloured and the remainder 

 more grey in tone. 



The wing feathers are extremely well developed at birth, and function in flight 

 within a day or two after the chick emerges from the egg. They cover the entire back 

 and project even beyond the caudal tuft of down which represents the tail at this period. 

 The ist to 7th primaries inclusive, of a three-day-old chick give the wing a total length 

 of 71 mm. (the 7th having grown 43 beyond its sheath), whereas the bird itself is only 

 120 mm. in length. The 8th primary is still encased in its sheath, while there is no 

 trace of the 9th and loth. Eight secondaries are well to the fore, and one or two others 

 of shorter length give a very adult and finished appearance to the tiny closed wing. 

 All the flight feathers are dull dark brown, coarsely mottled on the outer webs with 

 reddish buff, the pattern giving to the wing the appearance of four or five more or less 

 distinct transverse bands. 



The culmen is high and arched, quite like the adult, and the cere is feathered to 

 the anterior edge of the nostrils. The culmen measures 6 mm. The other measure- 

 ments of the chick are : tarsus, 23 ; middle toe and claw, 22 mm. 



It is interesting that from the first there is a remarkable absence of down from the 

 flights and coverts. The early precocious use of the wings soon strips away every 

 shred except upon the more protected lesser coverts. 



Except for general increase in size there is little change in the next week or two, 

 except for the appearance of the scapulars, in two conspicuous lateral patches of feathers, 

 mottled irregularly for much of the basal and central areas, but with the terminal third 

 (the visible portion) showing a large central whitish stripe flanked by two more or less 

 rounded black spots. Shortly after these, similarly patterned breast feathers appear 

 through the down, and the juvenile plumage soon eclipses the body down. At the stage 

 where the wing measures about 94 mm. we find that the 8th primary has gained 

 tremendously upon its fellows, projecting from its sheath about 25 mm., while its next 

 inner neighbour is only twice as long. No. 9 is only just visible as a tiny projecting 

 point above the skin. 



At this age the culmen measures 7 and the tarsus and middle toe 28 mm. 

 each. 



One-third Grown Male. — A July bird of about six weeks is in complete juvenile 

 plumage, except for the face, chin and throat, which still retain the nestling down. 

 Although the entire dorsal surface seems to be completely clothed with mesoptile 

 feathers, the plumage lifted anywhere shows active moult. The forehead and crown are 

 moulted clean, but a sharp line extends along the side of the head, below which the 

 immature down is unaffected. This downy section includes the lores, broad super- 

 ciliary band of rufous down, the sparsely feathered face, the chin and the throat. The 

 ear-coverts show a conspicuous patch of mesoptile feathers encroaching upon the down 

 of the face. 



