194 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



purple, with violet and green reflections on the central four or five pairs. Tarsi strong, 

 4 inches long, with stout spurs. Middle toe, with claw, 3 inches long. Legs and feet 

 vermilion-red. 



'' Hab. — Eastern Tibet, about 150 miles east of Lhasa {Harman). 

 *' This species resembles the figure of C. auritum Pall., given in Elliot's ' Phasinidae ' 

 in its general coloration and markings. It may, however, be easily distinguished by the 

 tail — which has no white in the centre of the lateral feathers, and is quite differently 

 coloured. The type of C. auritum, according to Elliot, is lost ; it is, however, described 

 by Pallas as having eighteen tail-feathers. Mr. Elliot's plate is taken from specimens 

 collected by the Abbe Armand David in the provinces of Shensi and Kokonor, and 

 originally described as C. caerulescens David ('Comptes Rendus,' Ixx. p. 538, 1870). 

 The figure shows twenty tail-feathers, as is the case with my bird ; but whether the 

 species collected by David is really C. auritum Pall, or not, my bird is clearly 

 distinct from both of them, so far as can be ascertained without seeing the specimens 

 themselves. 



" For this fine species I am indebted to Lieut. Harman, R.E., who has distinguished 

 himself as a surveyor and explorer of the Eastern Himalayas, especially in Sikkim, 

 where he has been employed for some years. When at Darjeeling in December last, 

 I saw the skin of what I at once recognized as a new Crossoptilon hanging on the wall 

 of his room. Unfortunately it had never been properly preserved, and was in such 

 a terribly moth-eaten state that the remains, which he kindly presented to me, and 

 which are now in the British Museum, are hardly worth preserving. They have, however, 

 proved sufficient for Mr. Keulemans to make a very accurate drawing, the only fault 

 of which is that the ear-coverts do not seem in the specimen to be so strongly developed 

 as in the figure. 



"The skin was brought to Mr. Harman by one of his native surveyors, who said 

 that he had procured it 150 miles east of Lhasa, at an elevation of about 6000 feet, where 

 it was found in flocks during winter. This part of Tibet has never been visited by any 

 European or by any of the late Mr. Mandelli's native hunters, and having, as reported, 

 a much milder climate and more luxuriant vegetation than the western parts of Tibet, 

 may be expected to produce a number of remarkable and, as yet, unknown species. 



"This makes the fifth, or, if C. tibetanum Hodgs. and C. drouyni Verr. should 

 prove to be identical, the fourth species of the genus known ; and though it is probable 

 that, as in the genus Phasianus, the local races or species of Crossoptilon will be 

 eventually found to merge insensibly into each other, yet there is no difficulty in 

 distinguishing them so far as we know at present." 



The principal points of difference between this so-called harmani and typical auritum, 

 is the greater amount of white on the body plumage — extending well down on the fore 

 neck, forming a very broad (12 mm.) occipital collar, and a well-marked but small 

 white patch on the belly, and combined with this the total absence of white from the 

 tail. 



In the literature of the species of Crossoptilon we find references such as the 

 following by Parrot, in his report on the Filchner Expedition to China and Tibet. The 

 translation reads — 



"A specimen of Crossoptilon auritum collected at Lussar, which the knobby spurs 



