34 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



"Mon unique femelle a donne 7 oeufs, dont 5 f^cond^s. Je n'ai pu dlever que 

 2 sujets, un coq et une poule ; ce n'est qu'un succ^s relatif, mais un succes que je 

 m'efforcerai de poursuivre, car ces oiseaux sont venus tr^s vite. lis ne font qu'une 

 consommation insignifiante de patee et d'oeufs de fourmi quand ils sont dans un 

 parquet avec de I'herbe a discretion. I.e coq a deja rev^tu son plumage d'adulte. Je 

 pense done que cette esp^ce est susceptible de reproduire la premiere annee, et si elle 

 s'annon^ait comme un peu plus feconde, elle aurait des titres sdrieux a ^tre essayee 

 comme oiseau de chasse. Elle ne craint en effet ni la neige, ni la temperature si 

 rigoureuse en hiver dans nos contrees." 



The only remaining definite account of the breeding of birds of this species is as 

 follows (" Bull. Soc. d'Acclim." 1881, p. 583) : " In the month of March 1880 we received 

 five imported birds, two of which did not thrive after their arrival, and by the spring of 

 1 88 1 there remained but one male and two females. In April one female was killed . . 

 On April 23rd the only surviving female laid her first egg in a corner of the cage, and 

 she continued to lay, at intervals of three days, until July 1st. She laid twenty-four 

 fertile eggs, from which nineteen young were hatched, which still survive, while two 

 chicks died in the shell, another was crushed by the brooding hen, and a fourth, already 

 well grown, was killed by a neighbouring brooding hen into whose enclosure the chick 

 had strayed. 



"To sum up, the breeding of young Koklass pheasants does not present more 

 serious difficulties than the breeding of other species, their diet being the same. They 

 are characterized by their wildness, as, while young tragopans and impeyans will eat 

 from the hand, the Koklass chicks hide themselves as soon as the door of their enclosure 

 is opened." 



DETAILED DESCRIPTION 



Adult Male. — The entire crown greyish buff, the elongated crest clear rufous buff, 

 and the still longer occipital crest just behind dull black with shining green edges. A 

 very large patch of white extending from the gape and the ear-coverts down the side 

 neck. The remaining portions of the head and neck shining iridescent green, the chin 

 and throat, however, chiefly dull black. Dorsal part of the neck and upper mantle light 

 yellowish buff with darker, more rufous margins. A narrow line of feathers along the 

 mid line of the neck shows basal black, which creeps up the webs close to the edge, and 

 where the yellow colour dies out on the mid mantle, the black has reached the tip in 

 the shape of two broad tapering lines. This is the typical character of xanthospila 

 on both dorsal and ventral plumage. 



As the yellow dies out, a mottled grey takes its place and extends uniformly back- 

 ward to the rump, where it becomes tinged with buff and rufous. The same grey and 

 black pattern and colour characterize the entire under surface except for the mid zone of 

 solid chestnut, which is the same as in macrolopha. The lower sides and flanks, however, 

 show the nuchal yellow strongly developed. 



The scapulars and wings are marked by an olive tinge, with the two black lateral 

 lines well developed on all the coverts. On the tertiaries and inner secondaries this black 

 is confined to two large, irregular subterminal spots, the inner of which is marked or 

 replaced with rufous. The secondaries show successively less and less olive-brown 



