MIKADO PHEASANT 203 



The central rectrices are chestnut, shading off into pale buff toward the margins of 

 the webs, and are irregularly mottled with black. There are about a dozen black cross- 

 bars. The longest upper tail-coverts are similar in pattern. On the lateral tail-feathers 

 the pale buff and the black markings decrease, the bars becoming imperfect and finally 

 vanishing, especially on the outer webs. Every chestnut feather, however, retains a 

 broad white tip, and a still larger black sub-terminal zone. The under tail-coverts are 

 miniatures of these outer rectrices. 



The chin and throat are brownish white, passing into the monochrome olive grey of 

 the upper breast. As on the mantle, white shaft-streaks appear posteriorly, and rapidly 

 increase in size until on the belly and sides white is the dominant colour. The typical 

 pattern is a broad white tip, then a backward-curving band of black, enclosing a rufous 

 area. Then follows a large white zone and an irregular black band or spots at the 

 base. As on the upper plumage, hardly two adjacent feathers show an exactly 

 similar pattern. The lower belly is of decomposed olive feathers with wide greyish- 

 white tips. 



Iris brown ; facial skin reddish ; legs and feet bluish horn. Bill to nostril, 

 16 mm. ; wing, 210; tail, 215 ; tarsus, 64; middle toe and claw, 56. Spur a low sharp 

 scalule. 



Juvenile Plumage.— The Mikado Pheasant attains its fully adult dress at the 

 first annual moult. No bird in full juvenile plumage has been observed, but by 

 examining many individuals which show traces of the immature feathers, a mosaic may 

 be obtained, giving a general idea of this stage. The juvenile scapulars of the male bird 

 are black, mottled irregularly with rufous and broadly margined with pale buff. The 

 coverts are brown, narrowly margined with whitish. The flight feathers are broadly 

 banded with rufous and the upper tail-coverts have bright chestnut marginal mottlings. 

 There is considerable variation in the breast plumage. The more common pattern is 

 white with two concentric bands of black, the white often tinged with rufous. This may 

 be varied by there being only a single band, or by the appearance of a wide buffy white 

 margin all around. 



Five-day Chick in Down.— Centre and rear crown, upper neck, mantle and 

 scapular-down dark chestnut ; back, rump and sides dark mahogany or chocolate ; lores, 

 anterior and sides of crown buffy brown ; lower face, chin, throat and under-parts buff, 

 breast tinged with brownish ; a narrow, brownish-black line extending down and back 

 from the eye, over the ear-coverts ; two broad, buffy-yellow stripes along the upper sides, 

 splitting the dorsal and lateral chocolate into three parts. The wing plumage is the only 

 contour feathering visible. Primaries dark brown, roughly banded with rufous buff on 

 the outer web ; secondaries similar, but with the bands wider, more mottled, and 

 showing a tendency to extend on to the inner web ; primary coverts like the primaries ; 

 secondary greater coverts with two distinct, sub-terminal, rounded, black ocelli. Bill 

 dusky, pale yellowish horn toward tip and along cutting edges ; feet and legs 

 dusky. 



Length, 167 mm. ; bill from nostril, 7 ; wing, 67 ; tail in down ; tarsus, 25 ; 

 middle toe and claw, 25 mm. 



