woods than the P . torquatus, and moreover does not exhibit that inclination to wander, so characteristic 

 of the Ring-necks, a circumstance much in its favour. Nothing, however, can be more uninteresting to the 

 man of science than the mongrel varieties produced by the introduction of these new Pheasants, which bid 

 fair to increase so rapidly, that I have little hesitation in saying, in twenty years from this time nothing like 

 a true species will be found in this country ; this, however, will be of little moment, since they may be 

 obtained in those portions of the globe which form their natural habitat ; namely, P. Colchicus in Asia 

 Minor, P. torquatus in China, and P. versicolor in Japan. 



I cannot close this paper without returning my thanks to John Henry Gurney, Henry Kelsall, and G. D. 

 Berney, Esqs., for several interesting varieties of these pheasants. 



The male has the forehead, crown and occiput purplish oil-green ; ear-tufts glossy-green ; chin, throat, 

 sides and back of the neck glossy changeable bluish-green ; back of the neck, breast, and under 

 surface deep shining grass-green, with shades of purple on the back of the neck and upper part of the 

 breast ; feathers of the back and scapularies chestnut with buffy shafts, and two narrow lines of buff running 

 round each, about equidistant from each other and from the margin ; lower part of the back and upper 

 tail-coverts light glaucous-grey; shoulders and wing-coverts light greenish-grey washed with purple; 

 primaries brown on the internal web, toothed with dull white at the base, outer web greyer and irregularly 

 banded with dull white ; tertiaries brown freckled with grey, and margined, first with greenish-grey, and 

 then with reddish chestnut ; centre of the abdomen and thighs blackish-brown ; tail glaucous-grey, slightly 

 fringed with purplish, and with a series of black marks down the centre, opposite to each other at the base 

 of the feathers, where they assume a band-like form ; as they advance towards the tip they become gradually 

 more and more irregular, until they are arranged alternately, and in like manner gradually increase in size ; 

 on the lateral feathers these marks are much smaller, and on the outer ones are entirely wanting, those 

 feathers being covered with freckles of brown; orbits crimson-red, interspersed with minute tufts of black 

 feathers ; eyes yellowish-hazel ; bill and feet greenish horn-colour. 



Compared with the female of the Common Pheasant, the hen of the present bird has all the markings 

 much stronger, and is altogether of a darker colour. She has the whole of the upper surface very dark or 

 blackish-brown, each feather broadly edged with buff, passing in some of the feathers to a chestnut hue ; 

 those of the head, and particularly of the back, with a small oval spot of deep glossy-green close to the 

 tip ; primaries and secondaries light brown, irregularly barred with buff, and with buffy shafts ; tertiaries 

 dark brown, broadly edged with buff on their inner webs, and mottled with dull pale chestnut on the outer 

 web, the edge of which is buff; tail dark brown, mottled with buff and black on the edges, and crossed by 

 narrow irregular bands of buff bordered on either side with blotches of dark brown ; on the lateral feathers 

 the lighter edges nearly disappear, and the bands assume a more irregular form ; throat buff; all the 

 remainder of the under surface buff, with a large irregular arrow-head-shaped mark near the top of each 

 feather ; thighs similar, but the dark mark nearly obsolete. 



The Plate represents the two sexes about three-fourths of the natural size, from a drawing by Mr. Wolf. 



