106 PHEASANTS ADAPTED FOR THE COVERT. 



feed ended in disappointment. Once only I had a glimpse of a brood of young ones 

 near a hut in the mountains, but they immediately disappeared by running very 

 rapidly. Perhaps one reason of our want of success is to be found in the fact that 

 the wheat was ripe, and partially harvested before we left (June 24th), so that during 

 the time of our efforts they were enabled to fill their crops occasionally from the 

 wheat-fields, and lie very close in the hills during the day, without being under the 

 necessity of wandering in search of food. 



" ' The note of one or the other of these species of pheasants was heard 

 frequently. On the top of a precipitous hiU, about a mile south of Simoda, covered 

 by small pines and a very thick growth of shrubbery, a pheasant (so we were 

 assured by the Japanese) passed the weary hours, while his mate was on her nest, 

 and very sensibly solaced himself and her with such music as he was capable of 

 making. It was, however, anything but melodious, and may be represented as a 

 sort of compound of the filing of a saw and the screech of a peacock. There are 

 two notes only, uttered in quick succession, and represented by the Japanese name 

 of the bird — Ki-ji ; but the second note is much longer, louder, and more discordant, 

 in fact has more of the saw-filing character — Kee-jaeae. These two notes are 

 uttered, and if the bird is not disturbed they are repeated in about five minutes. 

 A good many attempts, perhaps twenty, to become better acquainted with this 

 individual all failed. It seemed impossible to make him fly, though his covert was 

 by no means extensive.' " 



This species is readily distinguished by the widely separated transverse bands 

 on the tail of the male, and the short, rounded tail of the female (Sin. in length, 

 ^ that of the male being 23in.), the feathers of which are tipped with white at the 

 extremity. We are not aware of any hybrids between this and allied species, 

 although their production would be very interesting as bearing on a suggestion 

 made by Mr. Darwin to the effect that "if the female Soemmerring pheasant with 

 her short tail were crossed with the male common pheg-sant, there could be no 

 doubt that the male hybrid offspring would have a much longer tail than that of 

 the pure offspring of the common pheasant. On the other hand, if the female 

 common pheasant, with her tail nearly twice as long as that of the female 

 Soemmerring pheasant, were crossed with the male of the latter, the male hybrid 

 offspring would have a much shorter tail than that of the pure offspring of 

 .Soemmerring's pheasant."— « The Descent of Man," Vol. II., p. 156. 



The following description of the two sexes is taken from Mr. Gould's 

 magnificent folio, "The Birds of Asia":— "The male has the whole of the upper 

 surface and throat of a fine coppery brown, with a lighter border to each feather, 

 which in some lights appear of a purple hue; in others rich coppery red, and 

 in others again bright but deep flame colour-this latter tint being especially 

 conspicuous on the lower part of the back and upper tail coverts. This is the 



