than those of a common Fowl, and, so far as I recollect, rather bluish in tint. The Chinese, who bring 

 these birds in, feed them with a kind of millet-cake ; they are also very fond of barley, which is grown in 

 abundance in the mountain-valleys." 



We learn from Dr. Lamprey's notes on the gallinaceous birds observed by him in China, that this is one 

 of the four kinds of Pheasants he has seen in the markets of Tien-Tsin, the uninterrupted cold of winter 

 allowing of their being brought in large numbers from remote places, and preserving them fit for use until 

 the spring. "The meat of this kind of Pheasant," says the Doctor, " is exceedingly delicate, and the bodv 

 is nearly as bulky as that of a small-sized Turkey." (Proc. Zool. Soc, 1862, p. 221.) 



To test the quality of the flesh of the Crossoptilon, I had a female, that had been killed by a male in the 

 Zoological Gardens, cooked in the ordinary way. It weighed over five pounds. The pectoral muscles were 

 white, like those of the Common Pheasant, and equal in flavour; but the legs and thighs, which were very 

 large in comparison with the size of the bird, were coarse, brown, and less palatable. 



Mr. Bartlett states that these birds breed when only one year old, that the young birds assume the adult 

 plumage at the first moult, that the sexes are exactly similar, and that they are remarkably hardy and ex- 

 tremely tame. (Proc. Zool. Soc, 1868, p. 115.) 



Mons. Armand David, the French Missionary at Pekin, to whom the authorities of the Museum of Natural 

 History at Paris are indebted for the specimens of Crossoptilon auritum in their collection, ** met with these 

 rare birds for the first time in July 1863, in the northern valley of a high mountain, about fifteen leagues to 

 the west of Pekin. The female only differs from the male in being slightly smaller in size, and in having 

 the spurs but little developed ; and the nuptial plumage and that of winter are identical. Captured and 

 placed in an aviary, these birds become gentle and familiar ; their voice is varied, but closely resembles that 

 of the domestic Fowl. The Chinese know the bird by the name of Ho-ki or Gho-hy. It dwells in small 

 numbers in the most wooded places of the mountains. Three specimens killed in July had their crops filled 

 with the leaves of Cytisus ; while those procured in winter contained nuts, various kernels, leaves of 

 mugwort, ferns, and, above all, roots of orchids and other succulent plants, coleoptera, worms, and cater- 

 pillars. When I killed the three adults above mentioned, there were four other old ones and fifteen 

 young, all feeding together in a neighbouring field. Were they two families united ? They perch readily, 

 and carry their tails elevated, like the common Fowl." (Nouv. Archiv. du Mus. d'Hist. Nat., Bull., 

 torn. i. p. 13.) 



The male has the short, velvety, and partially curled feathers clothing the head deep glossy black ; sides of 

 the head devoid of feathers, and of a deep blood-red, below which is a conspicuous lengthened tuft of silvery 

 white feathers directed backwards and upwards ; chin and throat silvery white, tinged with grey ; neck and 

 the anterior portion of both the upper and under surfaces of the body deep, glossy, purplish black, gradually 

 becoming paler on the latter, until it fades into leaden grey on the vent and thighs, and into a lighter grey 

 on the under tail-coverts ; on the former, or upper surface, the purplish black becomes of a hair-brown on 

 the upper part of the back and wings ; lower part of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts hoary grey ; 

 all the tail-feathers grey at the base and purplish blue on their apical portion ; irides light orange ; bill 

 fleshy ; feet sealing-wax red ; nails horny. 



Total length 33 inches, bill If, wing 12-J-, tail 17, tarsi 4. 



The figure is about two-thirds of the natural size. 



