68 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



specialization of a few terminal ones. In a single feather 85 mm. in length, the shaft 

 is only a third of this length, supporting some forty pairs of short barbs. Then the 

 shaft breaks gradually into a score of barbs, which are tremendously lengthened, and 

 which form the terminal two-thirds of the feather ; these are clothed to their very tip 

 with very short, barbicel-less barbules. The transition is very abrupt — there are no 

 barbs of median length ; for example, the last of the short barbs may be 6 mm. in 

 length, while the succeeding one is 60 mm., fully ten times as long. 



Ear-coverts, sides and back of the neck, and central pair of tail-feathers pure 

 white; remainder of the upper plumage of body and wings white, dotted and lined 

 with black. Mantle, back, rump and all but longest upper tail-coverts, each with five 

 or six narrow, regular, black, concentric lines. In some cases these are solid throughout; 

 or again, they are broken into dots near the apex of the feather, giving the appearance 

 of a distinctly patterned but peppered upper surface; the scapulars, wing-coverts, 

 tertiaries and inner secondaries are similar, but the black lines are fewer in number, 

 much coarser and stronger and less regular. This irregularity increases as we proceed 

 outward on the flight feathers ; on the outermost secondary the outer web shows 

 three wide, almost longitudinal lines of black, which are continued around for some 

 distance on the inner web, but part-way down the vein they disintegrate into an 

 irregular mottling ; the primaries show almost a reversed condition, the more complete 

 lining being on the inner web, the outer showing only mottling. 



The tail is very long, slender, tapering and graduated. Central feathers pure 

 white ; lateral ones show a gradual increase of irregular, oblique, black lines ; these 

 first appear basally, on the outer web, and increase in strength and extent, but decrease 

 in number until on the outer pair we find only three pairs of broad black concentric 

 lines ; the long upper tail-coverts are similarly entirely covered with numerous, rather 

 thin regular lines. 



Chin, throat, fore-neck and entire ventral plumage black, glossed with purple; 

 the transition from the upper to the under plumage on the sides of the breast is very 

 abrupt, the bordering feathers usually having the more ventral web black and the 

 upper web white. 



Entire face and lores bare, the skin strongly papillated and brilliant blood-red ; 

 at the breeding season the three pairs of wattles, so typical of this genus, are strongly 

 developed ; irides red brown ; bill usually greenish horn, but varied with darker ; legs 

 and feet scarlet. The spurs are stout, strong, slightly curved and very sharp, very 

 efficient weapons. 



Chinese Silver Kaleege vary enormously in their measurements. The birds I 

 have from Fokien are the largest. Those from Yunnan show the greatest variation. 

 I think that even in some specimens which in pigment and pattern are quite typical, 

 hybridism is shown by the small size in general and the shortness of the tail, approach- 

 ing lineatus in these respects. 



A fully adult large-sized male which I obtained in central Fokien shows the 

 following measurements: length, 11 12 mm. ; bill from nostril, 21 ; wing, 285 ; tail, 633 ; 

 tarsus, 90 ; middle toe and claw, 70 ; spurs, 20 mm. I have measured several birds 

 which equalled these measurements, two from Yunnan. The first, however, was a cock 

 from north-west Fokien, which excelled by far any other Silver Kaleege I have ever 



