82 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



DETAILED DESCRIPTION 



Adult Male. — Elongated crest, growing from the forehead and fore crown, of 

 slender, stiffened, decomposed feathers, the longest 70 mm. in length. The distal two- 

 thirds are shining green, the basal third banded black and white. The feathers of the 

 hind crown, hind neck and mantle are markedly recurved, in fact convex, as both the 

 edges of the decomposed webs as well as the extremities are curved upward. These 

 feathers are white, spotted and, on the distal half, irregularly banded with dark chocolate 

 brown, with a wide terminal band of the same colour. When the bird is held with the 

 head pointing away, and these feathers are looked at obliquely, they seem of a uniform 

 dark brown and white, but when viewed from directly above at a right angle, the terminal 

 band and many of the more proximal bands and spots glow with a beautiful violet 

 iridescence. On the shorter nape feathers this hue appears almost solid ; but on the 

 mantle only as a terminal fringe on the upturned extremities of the feathers. There is 

 great variation in the amount of this colour, which is evidently a recent acquisition, as 

 some male birds which are fully adult in all other respects almost lack the violet. 



In general the Malay Peacock Pheasant may be said to be cinnamon buff, of a rather 

 dark shade. The ocelli are very abundant on the mantle, scapulars and coverts, and are 

 well set off by a narrow black ring and an equal area of solid buff. The remainder of 

 the dorsal plumage may be described as creamy or cinnamon buff, spotted thickly with 

 black, the spots becoming larger and finally confluent on the basal part of the feathers. 

 The ocelli are large and brilliant on the tertiaries and on the secondaries, usually up to 

 the 9th, 8th or 7th, on one of which only the half ocellus on the outer web is present. 

 The remaining eight, seven or six secondaries show no trace of ocelli. The general 

 colouring is reversed, the black or brownish black being dominant, and the buff reduced 

 to markings at the tip and outer margins of the vane, while basally it is reduced to 

 sparse vermiculations and finally dies out altogether. The primaries are plain brown. 



The back, rump and shorter tail-coverts are densely vermiculated with buff, darker 

 than elsewhere, and pale shaft-streaks are present. These all lack ocelli, which make 

 their appearance again on the longer tail-coverts. Here and on the central rectrices they 

 are double, as elsewhere, but with strong hints of a separation, by way of , the deep 

 notch at the proximal margin. On all the lateral rectrices the inner half or ocellus has 

 vanished, leaving no trace whatever, the ocellus on the outer web remaining perfect and 

 symmetrical. 



Distally to the ocelli on the longest upper tail-coverts and the rectrices a strong 

 tinge of rufous chestnut colours the webs. The spotting over all the surface of the 

 feather is very strong, restricting the rather pale buff background to a mere network. 



The facial area has only a scattering of short featherlets, while the lower cheeks and 

 back over the ear-coverts form an elongated triangular patch of black feathers, glossed 

 with green. Chin and throat white. Breast and under-parts brownish black, with the 

 breast conspicuously spotted and banded with whitish buff, which, on the remaining 

 under-parts, becomes more creamy buff, and changes to a finely vermiculated pattern. 



The iris is almost white ; facial skin orange, increasing in intensity at the breeding 

 season ; bill black, lower mandible somewhat paler horn ; feet and legs black. 



Length, 520 mm.; bill from nostril, 14; wing, 200 to 215; tail, 300; tarsus, 70; 



