SCEMMEBEING'S PHEASANT. 



offspring would h;i\'e a much sbortcr t;iil than that of the pure 

 offspring of Sojmnierring's pheasant." — '"J'lie JJosceut of 

 Man," Vol II., p. 150. 



The following deseriptiijn (jf the two sexes is taken from 

 Gould's "Birds of Asia'': "The male has the whole of the 

 upper surface and throat of a line coppery Ijrowu, with a 

 lighter border t(j each feather, which in some lights appear 

 of a purple hue ; m others rich copjn'ry red, and in 

 others again bright but deep tlanie colour — this latter 

 tint being especially conspicuous on the lower pai't of the 

 back and u]i]ier tail coverts. This is the gcnei'al appear- 

 ance. On examining each feather singly, it is f(jund to l^e 

 grey at the base, dark rich brown in the middle, with a 

 broad stripe down the centre, and on each side of dark 

 coppery brown, with a lustrous stripe on each side of the tip ; 

 wiug coverts the same, liut devoid id' the lustre at the tips; 

 a few of the greater coverts with a, narrow^ bar of creamy 

 white at the til"), within which is a still narrower one of 

 black. Prinnii-ies dark brown, crossed by irregular broken 

 bands of a tawny hue; secondaries dark brown, freckled 

 near the tip with tawuy, a,nd a large patch of deep rufous 

 near the end of the iiuter \veb, becoming nuich paler at th 

 extremity ; on the tips at the inner webs of sevei-al of them 

 the double mark of white and bhbck, as on the greatei' 

 coverts. Tail rich chesnut red with black shafts, and 

 crossed at intervals of about tw(j inches with a narrow 

 irregular baud of black, and a second broader and more 

 decided band of the same colour — the sjiace between th 

 bands being of a similar bnt paler tint than the body of the 

 feather; the second baud of black, moreover, becomes 

 broader, and gradually blends with the general colours of the 

 feathers as they approach the extremity — on some the 

 intermediate pale band is white; frathers of the under 

 .surface marked like the upper, but the bordering is not 

 luminous, and terminates in dull grey, within which, on the 

 lower part of the sides of the abdomen, is a narrow line of 



e 



e 



