NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 



159 



INDIAN PEACOCK. 



nearest relative to the golden species, and also a strong can- 

 didate for first honors on the score of beauty. As far as 

 you can see the cock bird, you can recognize it by its mar- 

 vellous cape of pure white feathers marked with semicircles 

 of black and steel-blue, which reaches from its eyes far back 

 upon the shoulders. It is also easily recognized by its enor- 

 mously long tail, the middle feathers of which are conspicu- 

 ously marked by a regular series of diagonal bars of black 

 laid on a light ground color. This bird is of small size, and 

 fortunately for the public, it breeds in confinement with suffi- 

 cient readiness that a good supply for exhibition purposes is 

 thereby maintained. 



The Silver Pheasant, (Genmeas nycthemerus) , of China, 

 is Nature's "running mate" for the golden pheasant, not 

 only in the rocky hill forests of southern China, but in 

 acclimatization, in captivity, and everywhere else. Wher- 

 ever you see a golden pheasant, look for the Silver also, with 

 its showy, snow-white tail, and white mantle of feathers 

 which covers the whole upper two-thirds of the bird from 

 its ears to its tail. Its dark-colored under surface serves well 

 to accentuate the whiteness of its other parts. It is a larger 

 bird than the golden and Amherst pheasants, but it is so 

 good tempered that every summer two or three cock birds 

 are kept in the great Flying Cage along with many small 

 and defenseless birds which might easily be molested. In 

 parks which are not visited by great numbers of people, 



