THE GOLDEN PHEASANT. 



[Thaumalea picta.) 



"A merry welcome to thee, glittermg bird i 

 Lover of summer flowers and sunny things* ! 



A night hath passed since my young buds have heard 

 The music of thy rainbow-colored wings — 



Wings that flash spangles out where'er they quiver, 

 Like sunlight rushing o'er a river." 



It is seldoin that we find in nature so 

 many excellent attributes combined in a 

 single object as we find in the male 

 Golden Pheasant. Graceful in motion 

 and in pose, usually possessing an 

 amiable disposition, and clothed with a 

 wonderfully colored plumage, the Golden 

 Pheasant seems to belong toi a bird caste 

 which includes none of its relatives, 

 unless it be the Amherst's pheasant. 

 While the colors of the Amherst's are 

 less brilliant than those of the Golden 

 Pheasant, they are more harmonious. 



It is said that the native haunts of this 

 beautiful bird are the mountainous 

 regions in the western center of China, 

 and westward along the same latitude. 

 At a very early date it was introduced 

 into Japan, whose people are noted 

 breeders of pheasants. There it would 

 seem that by careful selection forms have 

 been produced, the colors of the plumage 

 of which vary somewhat from those of 

 the parent stock. Also at an early period 

 the Golden Pheasant was introduced into 

 Europe, where it is only found in 

 aviaries. It breeds readily in confine- 

 ment, and the young grow rapidly and 

 are easily raised. Mr. Elliot says: *'No 

 bird is rnore suited, both as regards its 

 gentle disposition and strong contrast- 

 ing colours of plumage, to become an 

 inhabitant of the aviary." Mr. Elliot also 

 says: "Nothing is more beautiful than 

 to see a number of these birds scattered 

 about upon a lawn, their active move- 

 ments executed with much grace, while 

 their scarlet breasts appear to great 

 advantage against the bright green 

 grass." 



The heads of the males of this species 

 are ornamented with a beautiful amber- 



colored crest of fine feathers. There is 

 also quite an extensive ruff, which 

 springs from the back of the head, and 

 lies upon and hides the neck. The 

 feathers of this ruff or cape are orange- 

 red and tipped with a bar of very dark 

 blue. This ruff may be greatly extended 

 and when the male is courting the atten- 

 tion of the female, it may be spread out 

 and brought over the face, or it may only 

 be drawn to the side of his head which 

 is exposed to the view of the bird which 

 he desires to attract. 



According to Mr. Latham, the Golden 

 Pheasants are called in China Kinki or 

 Kinkee, which means Gold Flower fowl 

 or Wroght fowl. They are greatly 

 prized by the Chinese, not alone for the 

 beauty of their plumage and their elegant 

 carriage, but also for the excellence of 

 their flesh. They are said tO' be more 

 delicate for the table than are the other 

 pheasants, but their numbers are much 

 too limited to be often seen in a cooked 

 state. The feathers of the crest and ruff 

 are much sought for by anglers for the 

 purpose of decorating their artificial 

 baits. These feathers are particularly 

 used in decorating the gaudy hooks of 

 Irish fishermen. 



The female does not possess the mag- 

 nificent colors of her mate. Her plumage 

 is plain and of a reddish brown color, 

 which is marked by spots and bars of a 

 darker hue. Her tail, too, is much 

 shorter than that of her mate. But little 

 has been written regarding the habits of 

 the Golden Pheasants in their native 

 haunts. Our knowledge of them has 

 been chiefly obtained from the study of 

 the birds in phcasantries. 



