THE JAPANESE PHEASANT. 



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arraii^'ed altLTiiatel)', and in the like inauuer gradiiiilK" 

 increase in size; on the lateral feathers these marks are iiuieli 

 smaller, and on the outer ones are entirely wanting, tho^e 

 feathers being covered with freckles of hrown; orbits crimson 

 red, interspersed with minute tufts of black feathers ; eyes, 

 yellowish ha/.el ; bill and feet horn colour. 



" Compared with the female of the common pheasant, the 

 heii of the present bird has all the markings much stronger, 

 and is altogether of a (hirker colour. She has the whole of 

 the njiper surface ver}' ch^rk or Idackish brown, each feather 

 broadly edged with buff, passing in some of the feathers to a 

 ehesnufc hue ; those <"if the head, ami particularly tliose of the 

 back, with a. small oval deep spot of deep glossy green closi' 

 to the tip; primaries and secondaries light bi'own, irregulai'ly 

 bari'od vith buff, and with buffy shafts ; tei'tiaries dark 

 brown, broadly edged with buff on their innta- webs, and 

 mottled with dull pale chesnut on the outer web, the edge of 

 which is Ijulf ; tail dark br(Mvn, mottled with bull, and black 

 on the edges, and crossed bv narrow irregular bauds of buff, 

 bordered on either sidi' with blotches of dark brown ; on 

 the lateral feathers the lighter edges nearly disappear, 

 aiul the bands assunu- a uioi'c irregular form; throat, buff; 

 all the remainder of the under surface Initt, with a large, 

 irregular, arrriwhcad-shaped mark near the top of each 

 feather; thigh similar, but with the dark mark nearly 

 obsolete." 



The habits <:if the Japanese jihcasant in its luitive country 

 were first desci'ibed by Mr. Heine, the naturalist attached ti.i 

 the American expedition to Jajian, ami the iollowing obser- 

 vations by him were published in Commodore Pm-ry's "Jajian 

 Jlxpedition," 1S5G : — " After the treaty of "^^jkohama had been 

 concluded the United States squadron ]n-oceeded to Simoda. 

 A friendly intercourse with the natives ^vas established, and 

 I constantly availed myself of Commodore Perry's kind 

 permission to make additions to our collection in natural 

 liistor\\ t)iie morning, at dawn of day, 1 shouldered my gnu 



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