CHAPTER XVI. 

 The Prince of Wales's Pheasant 



(PJiasianus principalis). 



IN April, 1885, Dr. Sclater . exhibited at the Zoological 

 Society skins of a pair of pheasants, brought from Baal 



Murghab, North Afghanistan,^belonging to the Prince of 

 Wales, and read extracts relating to. the specimens from a 

 letter addressed by Mr. Condie Stephen to Sir Dighton 

 Probyn. 



" These pheasants," writes; Mr. Stephen, " abound in the 

 reeds fringing this river, rising in places in far larger numbers 

 than I have seen in any battue .in England. You can imagine 

 what a quantity there must be from the fact that we killed 

 more than four hundred on. our. march of thirty miles up the 

 river, mostly cocks." 



The hving specimens, which were subsequently received 

 in the gardens, and from which the engraving was taken, 

 were obtained by Major Peacock from the Afghan frontier, 

 but in consequence of their being received in very poor condi- 

 tion, they all died without having produced any young. 



The most important characteristic of this fine bird, and 

 one that distinguishes it from all the pheasants first naturahsed 

 in this country, is that the wing coverts are white, a character 

 which it has in common with the Mongohan pheasant, P. 

 mongolicus ; but it differs in the markings and arrangement 

 of the colours, and has consequently been regarded as a distinct 

 species, and named P. principalis, in commemoration of the 

 fact that the skins were received from his late Majesty King 

 Edward VII. when Prince of Wales. 



