EASTERN CHINESE RING-NECKED PHEASANT 



Phasianus colchicus torquatus Gmelin 



Names.— Subspecific : torquatus, Latin, adorned with a collar. English: Eastern Chinese Ring-neck; 

 Gmelin's Pheasant. Chinese : Teh-chi (Wild Chicken) ; Shan-chi (Mountain or Hill Chicken). 



Type.— Locality : South-east China. Describer: Gmelin. Place of Description: S.N. I. pt. II. 1788 

 p. 742. 



Subspecific Characters.— The white collar is usually interrupted in front, and is much less wide than it 

 is in karpowi and hagenbecki, while it is, in turn, wider and more distinct than in strauchi, and the nearest 

 individuals of decollatus. The flank feathers are usually darker and richer in colour than m formosanus. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



Eastern and south-eastern China from Canton to Hunan, north to the Lower and 

 Middle Yangtse, up river at least to Ichang ; north to Pekin, Kalgan, and the Ordos 

 country. It doubtless interdigitates with karpowi in some northern district, and with 

 strauchi and decollatus in the west. 



GENERAL ACCOUNT 



This, the last form of Pkasiajms colchicus to be discussed, shares with the first — 

 typical colchicus colchicus— \ht fact of being very widely known. The Chinese Ring-neck 

 has been introduced all over the world and has thrived in every temperate climate of 

 Europe and America. 



In its native haunts it has by far the widest distribution of any form. Many 

 attempts have been made to divide it into subspecies or even species, but my experience 

 in shooting along the Lower and Middle Yangtse, on the Min River inland from 

 Foochow, and south of Pekin, has compelled me to consider these as individual 

 variations. I have already told of the unreliability of rump colouring, and the breadth 

 or narrowness or absence of the white collar in specific differentiation of these birds. 



I spent several months in various parts of Eastern China, and had abundant 

 opportunity of observing the habits of the Ring-necked Pheasant. Several gentlemen 

 went to great trouble to furnish me with the data which I was unable personally to 

 obtain. Among these, Mr. Charles R. Maguire of Wuhu, Mr. Herbert Kyne of 

 H.M.S. Cadmus, and Mr. H. T. Wade were especially kind and able to give excellent 

 pictures of torquatus as they had observed it from both a naturalist's and a sportman's 

 point of view. My heartiest thanks go to them. 



The conditions of life, general habits and ecological environments of the pheasants 

 as we find them in the Lower and Middle Yangtse region is very typical of their near 

 relations to the north and west, and to attempt correspondingly a picture of the 

 numerous other subspecies would be to duplicate almost all of the facts. 



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