NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 161 



The Argus Pheasant, (Argusianus argus), is a bird with a 

 great reputation for beauty, but as seen alive in zoological 

 collections it does not always come up to expectations. Both 

 its secondary feathers — which when fully developed are of 

 enormous length — and its primaries, are extremely beauti- 

 ful; but unfortunately those beauties are not visible until 

 the bird is dead, and its plumage displayed in a manner 

 very rarely adopted by the living, captive bird. But the 

 eyes on the huge secondary feathers are wonderful, and each 

 primary is a dream in ecru and brown tints, laid on in a 

 most elaborate pattern. The Argus Pheasants are most shy 

 and wide-awake birds, inhabiting the dense, hot and moist 

 jungles of Borneo, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, and 

 are almost impossible to shoot. They are snared by the 

 Dyaks and Malays, and after the skin has been removed and 

 carefully preserved for museum purposes, the flesh is as fine 

 eating as the breast of a quail and quite as palatable. A 

 few successful attempts have been made to breed this 

 species in captivity. 



The Impeyan Pheasant, (Lophophorus imp ey anus), is the 

 neighbor of the Himalayan tahr, the burrhel, the ibex and 

 the markhor, and the delight of every sportsman who dares 

 the rocks of "the Roof of the World" in quest of Himalayan 

 big game. Its beauty is due chiefly to its metallic colors, 

 and the splendid iridescence of its plumage. Its home is 

 in the world's most gigantic mountains, and it is not un- 

 common for a bird that has flown out from a mountain-side 

 and been shot on the wing to fall 2,000 feet, and beyond 

 human reach. No wonder this bird is popular with Anglo- 

 Indian sportsmen. 



The Pheasant Aviary is a double installation, and as an 

 aviary for Pigeons and Doves it is quite as perfect as it is 

 for Pheasants. 



During the year 1910 and part of 1911, the pheasants 

 of the Old "World were studied in their haunts by Mr. C. 

 William Beebe, Curator of Birds. By reason of a cash gift 

 to the Zoological Society made by Col- Anthony R. Kuser, 

 he was enabled to make the expedition. The results will be 

 embodied in an elaborate monograph, which probably will 

 be published in the near future. 



