178 The Chinese Pheasant. 



interrupted bars of the same hue. These marks are broader on 

 the two central feathers than on the others, and, moreover, 

 do not reveal the edge on either side." 



The specific name torquatus is derived from torquis, a neck- 

 lace or collar. This species was introduced into England a great 

 many years since, long before the time of Latham (1790), 

 who described it as having been turned out in preserves on 

 many estates ; and in 1742 Peter Collinson saw " some beautiful 

 China pheasants " in the possession of Captain Goff, an East 

 India Director (Richardson, Correspondence, 1835). No birds 

 could be better adapted for our coverts ; being natives of a cold 

 part of China, they are very hardy — a character which they 

 display by laying early in the season, and by producing an 

 abundant supply of eggs. The pure Chinese is a bird of bold 

 flight, rising through the covert with great quickness, and then 

 pursuing a swift, straight course. It is unquestionably a most 

 ornamental addition to our game birds, being valuable not only 

 for the beauty of its plumage, but also for the delicacy of its 

 flesh. The breed is, however, kept in a state of absolute 

 purity with some difficulty, as the males are apt to wander ; 

 indeed, Mr. W. Liddiard, West Bridgford, Nottingham, who has 

 reared them in the United States, where they are commonly 

 known as Mongohans, reports that he had evidence of his 

 ring-necks being killed thirty and forty miles from where they 

 were bred. Hence crosses between it and the common species 

 are very prevalent ; these constitute what are usually called 

 the ring-necked pheasants. These cross-bred birds are 

 perfectly fertile, not only with either pure race, but also inter so 

 They are, however, variable in plumage, the amount of white 

 in the neck varying from four to five feathers to a nearly 

 complete circle, and the feathers on the flanks being inter- 

 mediate between the beautiful spotted buff of the pure Chinese 

 and the dark colour of the common bird. These ring-necks 

 are now common in most parts of the country where pheasants 

 are preserved. The good points of the Chinese are largely 

 shared by their half-bred progeny ; hence the cross between 



