THE COMMON PHEASANT. 151 



are brought into contact they begin to interbreed ; crosses of 

 every kind rapidly appear, and in a comparatively short time 

 the swamping effects of interbreeding reduce the two or 

 more local races which have been brought into contact to a 

 single and uniform intermediate race. Such swamping: 

 effects of interbreeding have practically stamped out in the- 

 British Islands the two very different looking races of 

 pheasants which were introduced into them — Phasianus- 

 colchicus from Asia Minor, and Phasianus torquatus from 

 China. The pheasant of the British Islands is, with jrery 

 rare exceptions, only a mongrel between these two races, but,, 

 it must be admitted, a very healthy and fertile one." 



The intermingling of the several races in the course of 

 ages, and the isolation of the different breeds in the valleys- 

 and river systems of Asia, have given rise to numerous sub- 

 species which are found spread over that vast continent.- 

 The spread of scientific investigation is continually disclosing 

 new pheasants, which it pleases the discoverers to regard as 

 distinct species, but which are obviously only mixed races.- 

 Mr. D. G-. Elliot, writing in 1872, enumerated about a dozen, 

 Mr. Seebohm, in the Ibis for 1887, described six as sub- 

 species of P. colchicus (three of which were not recognised 

 by Mr. Elliot). These are P. principalis from North 

 Afghanistan ; P. persicus, which Mr. Elliot regards as the 

 same as P. shawi; and P. chrysomelas, which he regards as 

 identical with P. insignis. In the following volume (1888) 

 Mr. Seebohm enumerates seven races, of which the Chinese 

 P. torquatus may be regarded as the type; of these two, 

 P. vlangali and P. straucha, are not described by Elliot. Of 

 the others, the most strongly marked is the Japanese P. versi- 

 color, which appears to me to be the most distinct and typical 

 of all the true pheasants. 



In his work on Game Birds, Mr. Ogilvie Grant enumerates 

 eighteen species, and to these have been added three others 

 by Mr. Dresser and the Hon. Walter Eothschild, as recorded! 

 at page 22 of the present volume. 



