as well as peas and lupins. In order to obtain Alhagi seeds, I have seen this Pheasant frequenting the 

 Saxaul woods (Holoxylon ammodendron) near the river Karakol. On the Syr (Jaxartes) all these haunts 

 are frequented by Phasianus mongolians ; but this bird is also very commonly found in the dense reeds of 

 summer-drying swamps, a kind of locality in which I never met with an Oxus Pheasant. The flocks of this 

 last species, though often dispersed during the day, gather themselves together more closely at night, which 

 they generally pass in the densest bushes, as in summer. I have also found them assembling for the night 

 on the walls of abandoned and deserted farm-yards, which on the Oxus, as well as in Turkestan, are built 

 of clay, in the form of small fortresses, 



" In the autumn, and in all probability in the winter too, this Pheasant feeds the whole day long, and grows 

 very fat, even before the moult is finished; whereas in summer, as we have seen, it feeds only in the 

 morning and evening, resting during the heat of the day in the shade of the jungle. Its flesh is white and 

 tender, rendering it a first-rate bird for the table. When flushed, it flies at first perpendicularly with a 

 great noise about ten or twelve yards high in the air, then horizontally at the same height for about a 

 hundred yards, and at last sinks obliquely into the jungle, where it is not easy to find again, even though 

 the spot be correctly marked ; its flight is very short and heavy, though rapid. In dense bushes it will 

 run in front of the sportsman, until it decides on flight ; in open spaces also it runs out of reach of shot ; 

 and winged birds can go at a great rate of speed. In some places, such for instance as the Karakol and 

 near the Dankara Lake, they are plentiful enough to be hunted profitably without a dog; but this is not 

 the case where they are scarcer, as near Petroalexandrowsk. A dog, however, is more useful to scent out 

 where a Pheasant is hidden in the bush, as it is not much use trying to follow a dog in the jungle, especially 

 as a Pheasant never makes a stand, but keeps on running continually before the dog, just as a Landrail 

 does. I have never seen a dog bring one of these Pheasants to perch, as is related of P. colckicus in the 

 Caucasus ; and indeed P. chrysomelas is eminently a ground-bird, perching only exceptionally, although 

 commencing to do so at an earlier season than P. mongolicus. This latter species I have only seen perch in 

 the depth of winter, viz. on two occasions in January 1875, and never before, during many years of 

 observation. Both the species mentioned were seen to perch only in Eleagnus trees. 



"The female of P. chrysomelas is, both in proportions and general colouring, exceedingly like the female 

 of P. mongolicus ; on an average, however, the head is smaller, the bill and the feet more slender, and the 

 toes somewhat shorter ; but these characters vary with individuals of both species, as also do the details of 

 coloration. The only difference that I found to be more constant is to be noticed in the black markings 

 of the hind neck (cervix) ; the female of P. chrysomelas has each feather on this part marked with a single 

 black horse-shoe of variable shape, while the female of P. mongolicus has two large transverse oval spots : 

 but the three females of P. chrysomelas which I possess can scarcely be considered sufficient to fix these 

 characters as constant." 



In conclusion I may state that the figure in the plate is taken from one of Dr. SevertzofFs typical 

 specimens, given by him to Mr. Osbert Salvin. From Mr. Salvin this fine bird passed to my own 

 collection, which contains a complete series of this group of birds. 



My readers will have no difficulty in perceiving the masterly hand of Mr. Wolf in the outline of both the 

 drawings of Pheasants in the present part. 



The principal figure on the accompanying Plate is about one tenth less than the natural size. 



