202 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



mere spots on the outer webs. On the central rectrices there may be as many as fifteen 

 of these narrow white bars ; on the outer a white tip and two bars crossing the inner 

 web near the base of the feather. 



The violet fringe of the breast is relatively long and the central black hemispheres 

 quite small. On the lower breast the violet dies out, the remainder of the ventral 

 surface being dead brownish black, with barely distinguishable narrow jet-black or pale 

 bluish margins. 



The under tail-coverts are slightly tipped with white. Facial skin scarlet, with 

 several rows of black featherlets near the orbits. Under eyelid thickly covered with 

 black and white featherlets. The scalation of the tarsus appears to be unique, for instead 

 of the hinder portion being covered with scales, it is reticulate, each of the small 

 octagonal scales being somewhat elevated, forming a rough, shagreen surface. 



Iris hazel-brown, bill bluish horn colour, feet greenish-brown. Culmen to nostril, 

 19 mm. ; wing, 230; tail, 625; tarsus, 68; middle toe and claw, 66; spur, 15. 



Variation. — A most interesting and significant variation is found in occasional 

 individuals which have the feathers of the rump and even those of the lower back widely 

 tipped with a white fringe, indicating the close relationship with the Elliot, Hume and 

 Copper Pheasant group. Both this and the remarkable variation in the abundance and 

 visibility of white spots on the coverts is not due to age, as I have observed both 

 extremes in young birds which still showed traces of juvenile plumage, and again in 

 full-grown birds with long spurs. Of two such young birds one had not a single 

 concealed white spot on any wing covert, while in the plumage of the other there were 

 scores, including actually a broad visible band across the lesser coverts, all the feathers 

 having wide sub-terminal bands or A-shaped marks or spots. 



Adult Female. — Forehead, sides of crown and neck and upper breast greyish 

 brown. Some of the ear-coverts are white, others brown. Crown and nape feathers 

 broad and rather elongated, black with dark rufous margins all around. On the upper 

 neck the rufous gives place to olive brown and a small rufous shaft-spot or streak 

 appears, soon changing to white. On the mantle the white streak becomes enlarged, 

 arrow-shaped and very conspicuous. From its base, part way down the feather, a rufous 

 band extends outward across the webs, and still more basally is an isolated rufous 

 shaft-spot. This is the fundamental pattern of the dorsal feathers, but in various 

 parts of the plumage and on various individuals one finds infinite variations of this. 

 On the mid back, for example, the oblique bar or circle of rufous has almost disappeared 

 and the white and rufous shaft-marks coalesce to form a single elongated shaft-streak. 

 Rather abruptly on the lower back and rump one finds the entire feather, save for the 

 white and rufous shaft and the olive tip, mottled with rufous and black. 



On the scapulars and coverts, the rufous band curves forward, forming with the 

 olive tip a frame for the central black— a perfect ocellus on each web, recalling vividly 

 the ocellus-pattern on female tragopans, and other pheasants. All but the inner 

 secondaries show very regular barring of moderately wide rufous bars, and wide black 

 interspaces. On the primaries the bars are perfect only on the outer webs, being broken 

 or absent on the inner. 



