WILD KALEEGE HYBRIDS 89 



rump of mearsi, and, in addition, the scarlet legs and feet of nisbetti. The 

 central tail-feathers were sparingly but strongly vermiculated with white for 

 most of their length, the terminal fifth being clear black. 



2. Adult Female. — This bird, which was constantly associated with the above cock (in 



fact, I secured both with one shot), was not distinguishable from females of 

 horsfieldi, except for the somewhat longer tail. Well grown as were the two 

 young birds, I saw this female more than once allow them to take food away 

 from her, and from this and other actions, besides the constant association of 

 the four birds before they joined the others for the afternoon's descent to water, 

 there is not the slightest doubt that this was a single family of kaleege. 



3. First Year Male. — Typical horsfieldi as found in Manipur, with tail of normal 



length, but with the basal vermiculation on the inner rectrices visible for a half- 

 inch beyond the upper tail-coverts. 



4. First Year Male. — Between obscurus and davisoni, with characters of each 



form. 



The two following birds I judged to be parent and offspring : — 



5. Adult Male. — Superficially close to lineatus, with somewhat coarser vermiculations, 



and with the outer webs of the outer tail-feathers almost unmarked black, as in 

 andersoni. ■ The central tail-feathers were vermiculated throughout, with no 

 hint of a pure white area. There was no trace of a rump fringe. 



6. First Year Male. — This bird does not correspond to the description of the females 



of any form. The general colour above is olive brown, very minutely vermicu- 

 lated with black, except along the margins of the feathers, where, the black dying 

 out, the pure olive brown shows paler and clearer. The primaries are brownish 

 black, densely mottled with greyish-brown on the outer webs. The secondaries 

 are similar, with the colour of the outer webs changing into that of the coverts 

 and remainder of the upper plumage. 



The chin and throat are white, tinged with brown along the margins. On the 

 under parts the light colour persists as a well-defined buffy shaft-stripe. The 

 rest of the feather is clear olive-brown, with but little mottling except on the 

 centre of the lower breast and abdomen, where the entire feather is irregularly 

 blackened especially along the enlarged shaft-stripe. The under tail-coverts 

 are the blackest of all the contour feathers, most of them showing brown only 

 along the margin. The outer and median tail-feathers are chestnut, obscurely 

 but coarsely mottled with black. Toward the central pairs the chestnut changes 

 to a brown, and the darker colour becomes a coarse vermiculation, the lines 

 irregular and lying obliquely to the shaft. 



The facial skin was scarlet ; the irides light hazel ; legs and feet pale, neutral, leaden 

 grey. 



I have gone into this in detail to show what variation I found among the females of 

 this group of pheasants. 



7. Adult Male. — One of the solitary males was horsfieldi in length of tail and general 



markings, except that there was more* vermiculation on the central tail-feathers 

 than I have seen in any bird from Assam, and the inner wing-coverts were 

 strongly margined. 



VOL. II 



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