212 PHEASANTS FOR COVERTS ANT) AVIARIES. 



all available information, and have great ])leasure in again 

 acknowledging our oMigatioiis to Jfr. Heine, tlic accomplislied 

 artist of tlie exjieditidn, for tlie fdllnwing iidte : 



" ' ( )ii diH' of my excursion^ I caiiH.' very suddenly npon 

 another sjiecies of ]iheasant, of veiy beautiful coh.iurs, and 

 with a very long tail. Being in the rind.st (if briars, and in an 

 inconvenient ])()hition, I missed him, nr at least did not injure 

 him fni'ther than to shoot off his two long tail featliers. 



"'Iveturning on board in the eveinng, I found that our 

 cliaplaiu, the lies', (ieorge Jones, had jiureliascd a pheasant of 

 the same kind from a Japanese root-digger in the hills. It 

 was not wounded or othei'wi'^c iiijureil, and seemed to have 

 been either caught in a trap or found dead. To my inquu'ies 

 of tin- Jajianese Dntcii interpreter whctlier these birds wei'e 

 ever hunted, J could obtain fnit evasive answer^ ; but if, 

 however, such is the case, the right is undoubtedly reserved 

 to the pn-inces and nobility. 



"'It appea.rs that both these kinds of ])heasants inhabit 

 similar localities, and are almndant o\er the southern ami the 

 middle pa,rts (jf the island of Xi[iou, for even during my 

 rambles m the vicinity of Yokohama, in the liav of ^'eddo, 

 1 Could hear their calls in tln^ little thickets and woods 

 scatlered over the coimlrv.' 



'■ I'or the following note on the bird now before ns, and 

 the l)rece(ling spiecies, wc are indebtiMl to the kindness of 

 Josepli W ilseu, jiin., j\[.D., of the iMiitecl Sta.tes Kavv, wdio 

 was attached as surgeon to the sqinulroii of the expedition ; 



" ' Our a,c(jua.inta,nee \vith the ]diea,sauts (jf Ja]ian Ijegan 

 soou al'ter oui' a,rri\al at Simoda, or al)ont the middle of April, 

 18o4. A Japanese brought to the landinij-place a vonng 

 bird, which, \\-itli the dark tips on his downy covering, and his 

 freijuently repeated " peet-peet," might have lieen mistaken 

 for a young turkey Ijut for his diminntive size. This inter- 

 esting little fellow had been obtained by hatching an egg of 

 a wild pheasant, obtained in the hills, under a domestic fowl. 



" ' A few days after this a male phea.sant m full jdumago 



