144 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



distinct in pigmentation from the rest of the ventral surface ; the mantle never with 

 white or pale shaft-streaks. 



The disintegrated, hair-like condition of the rump feathers in the males of true 

 Phasianus becomes an important character when the soemmerringi group is removed. 

 This is wholly absent from the copper pheasants and from Syrmatictis as I define it. 

 As to intra-generic differences: (i) reevesi and soemmerringi have eighteen rectrices, 

 while humiae, ellioti and mikado possess sixteen. In this instance the remarkable 

 resemblance between the females certainly is a more fundamental and important 

 character than the difference of a pair of tail feathers, when, to quote but a single 

 illustration, we recall that in the genus Gallus, varius possesses one pair of rectrices 

 more than gallus, (2) The extreme difference in colour of the males would seem to 

 militate against uniting them in a single genus, until we consider the parallel case of 

 Chrysolophus, where the Golden and Anherst males present quite as diverse colours and 

 patterns. The genus Syrmatictis, as I define it, seems a logical assemblage of forms, 

 fulfilling our generic law of geographic distribution, capable certainly of subgeneric 

 division, but on the whole differing in no more important characters than occur in other 

 phasianine genera. 



