CROSSOPTILON AURITUM. 



Chinese Crossoptilon, 



Phasianus auritus, Pall. Zoog. Rosso-Asiat., torn. ii. p. 86. 



Crossoptilon mantchuricum, Swin, in Proc. of Zool. Soc, 1862, p. 287. 



auritum, Sclat. in Proc. of Zool. Soc, 1863, p. 118.— Milne-Edw. Nouv. Arch, du Mus., Bull. i. p. 14. 



pi. 1— Bonap. Tab. par. du Gall., Compt. Rend, de 1'Acad. Sci., torn. xlii. p. 879.— Newt. Zool. Rev., 



vol. iii., 1866, p. 107. 

 Crossoptilum auritum, Newt. Zool. Rev., vol. ii., 1865, p. 125. 



The knowledge of the existence of the very fine bird figured on the opposite plate may almost be regarded 

 as one of the results of our conquests in China ; for, beyond the somewhat vague description given 

 in Pallas's celebrated ' Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica,' it was previously unknown, whereas we are now aware 

 that it is to be met with around Pekin, and it is often exposed for sale as an article of food in the markets 

 of the northern part of the Celestial Empire. Even the Russian naturalists must have been taken by surprise 

 when this was discovered to be the case ; for 1 believe that so recently as five years prior to that in which 

 I am now writing (1870) there was not a perfect specimen in the celebrated Museum at St. Petersburg, and 

 certainly not in those of Berlin, Leyden, or Paris. Now, however, all have been or may be supplied 

 with skins from Northern China or of specimens from the menageries of Europe, few of which, I presume, 

 are destitute of living examples. 



So tame is the disposition of this bird, and so readily does it breed in captivity, that, in these respects, it 

 may be fairly compared with the common Fowl. In the gardens of the Zoological Society in the Regent's 

 Park, many may be seen, either occupying the aviaries, moving about in a semidomesticated state, 

 or roosting at night on the large trees of the Gardens apart from the enclosures. In confirmation of these 

 assertions, I may give the following note, obligingly furnished me by Dr. Sclater, the Society's excellent 

 Secretary : — 



" The first living Crossoptilons acquired by the Society were two males, brought by Mr. Dudley E. Saurin 

 from Pekin in 1866, and presented by him to the Society on the 15th of July in that year. On the 10th of 

 the following November, we purchased, from the Jardin d'Acclimatation of Paris, two females, which had 

 been bred in that establishment during the previous summer. Our two pairs thus formed bred in 

 the Society's Gardens the following spring; and on the 26th of May, 1867, the first hatch, of seven young 

 ones, was produced. On the 14th of June a second brood, of nine young ones, saw the light. In the 

 following year (1868) two broods were likewise produced — one, on the 21st of May, often, and the other, 

 on the 13th of June, of eight young ones. Incubation, as in the case of most of our foreign Pheasants, was 

 effected by hens of the domestic Fowl. We are at present rather short of males of this Pheasant, but are 

 offering females for sale at the very moderate price of £15 each. Seeing that we purchased our first 

 two females for £50 each, it will be evident that the stock of this bird in Europe must have considerably 

 augmented during the last three years." 



Mr. Saurin, to whom we were indebted for the first specimens of this fine bird received alive, kindly 

 drew up some notes upon this species and other Pheasants occurring in the neighbourhood of Pekin, which 

 will be found in the Zoological Society's * Proceedings ' for 1866, p. 436, in which he says : — 



"Pallas's Eared Pheasant {Crossoptilon auritum) is rarely seen in the Pekin market. The bird is found 

 in the mountains to the north-west of that city, within the Great Wall, and about one hundred miles distant. 

 The place is well known for its coal-mines, and has frequently been visited by Europeans — amongst others 

 by the French Minister, M. Bertheney, the French Missionaries, and several of our Student Interpreters. 

 M. Bertheney, who is a sportsman and fond of natural history, thinks that, taking into consideration the 

 comparative tameness of the bird, and the fact that, since Europeans have come to Pekin, the peasants have 

 always found a good market for the nests, this rare bird, which, so far as we know, is only to be found at 

 this one spot, cannot fail soon to become extinct. Chinese guides, it is true, have assured me that it is to 

 be found in the Wei-chung or Imperial hunting-grounds; but no reliance can be placed on their statements, 

 even if the bird were called by the same name in so very distant a part of the country. 



" The Chinese name is Ho-chi, either ' River-fowl ' or ' Fire-fowl.' The translation depends on the cha- 

 racter ; and the peasants, who give it the name, know nothing of characters, while the students, who know 

 characters, are quite ignorant of natural history. 



" Pallas's Pheasant is never brought by Mongols, or frozen ; therefore " majitchuricmn " (the name 

 applied to it by Mr. Swinhoe) is a misnomer. The hen. lays towards the end of May; the eggs are larger 



