CHAPT^.p XVII. 

 Soemmerring's Pheasant 



{Pha,f<ianv,s 'Soemmerringii). 



SOilMMEKRING'S pbeasanfc is an exquisitely beautiful 

 species inhabiting Japan. In the southern islands, 

 Kin-Shin and Hondo,- it is very numerous, and is com- 

 monly exposed for sale in the markets of Nagasaki. In other 

 districts of the country its place seems to be supplied by the 

 P. versicolor. It was known to Temminck only bj- the dried 

 skins, but subsequently the living bird has been introduced 

 into aviaries in Europe, and it has bred in the zoological gardens 

 in London and Antwerp. In the Eegent's Park Garden it 

 first bred, according to Bartlett, in 1865, when the female laid 

 ten eggs, but only a few- birds were hatched, and the young 

 birds died in a few days. Since then the breeding has been 

 more successful, and matore' specimens have been reared. 



This species, however, is but ill-adapted to breed in con- 

 finement, as the males are excessively pugnacious — not only 

 destroying one another, -but even killing the females. The 

 tendency is probably developed by captivity, and no doubt, if 

 placed in a free range, Scemmerring's pheasant would prove 

 as fertile as the other species. The late Mr. A. D. Bartlett, 

 writing of this species in Elliot's- monograph, says : " Amongst 

 the Phasianidae some species are remarkable for their pugna- 

 cious and fierce dispositions ; not only the males, but frequently 

 the females destroy each other. = The want of sufficient space 

 and means of escape among- bushes, shrubs, and trees is no 

 doubt the cause of many females being killed when kept in 

 confinement ; and this serious misfortune is unhappily of no 

 rare occurrence. After -the «ost and trouble of obtaining pairs 

 of these beautiful birds^ and when they have recovered from 



