INTRODUCTION 



The readers of such a monograph as this, are attracted either because of the pleasure 

 they find in the beauty and grace of pheasants ; from the interest of keeping them in 

 captivity or on preserves ; from the enthusiasm of a sportsman ; or for reference in 

 ornithological research. With this in mind, I have arranged the text so as to afford 

 equal facility to all these varied interests. 



The natural history of the pheasants is the dominant theme ; their wild life and the 

 part they play in the scheme of nature in their Asiatic haunts. Hence I have striven 

 to put this phase to the fore in the cases both of general and specific treatment. 



In the present volume I have written a brief synoptic account of pheasants as 

 a whole, reserving the details of their care in captivity for a chapter in the final volume. 

 In treating of the various species, a brief description of the adult birds precedes each 

 account, the more intimate details of plumage, moult and variation, together with the 

 synonomy being readily accessible at the end of each species monograph. 



In the preparation of any work of a monographic character, there comes to the 

 writer, sooner or later, the feeling that his part in it is small indeed compared to the 

 great company of others who have aided him. From the philosopher who passed away 

 many decades ago but whose written word is still an inspiration, to the naked Dyak 

 who proudly comes bearing a trapped bird to Tuan — a gift not for money, but as from 

 one hunter to another — between these extremes there extends a long roll whose aid 

 is given freely and for sheer love of the wilderness folk. 



The friendship and unselfishness of Col. Anthony R. Kuser throughout the 

 undertaking are not to be measured by praise or verbal gratitude. It is my hope that 

 the work itself may be a token of appreciation. To Dr. William T. Hornaday, 

 Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn, Madison Grant and to the members of the Executive 

 Committee of the New York Zoological Society I am indebted for leave of absence 

 and unfailing interest and help. To Major Henry Jones of London, whose gift of a set 

 of paintings of the genus Phasianus was as generous as it was valuable. Among the 

 host of friends throughout Europe and the Far East, two names stand out, both heads 

 of museums, who welcomed an American ornithologist and provided him with every 

 available aid in their power. These are Dr. Arthur Willey of Colombo, Ceylon, and 

 Dr. Nelson Annandale of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. 



For seventeen months I travelled in Asia and the East Indies, studying the 

 pheasants in their native haunts, and was fortunate enough to find and study every 

 one of the nineteen genera of these birds which I recognize in this work. 



In the eastern Himalayas, from the terai of Nepal, Sikhim and Bhutan to the 

 southern border of Tibet, I found the Black-backed Kaleege, the Impeyan, the Satyr 

 Tragopan, and, high up near the snows, the Blood Partridges. Here I travelled on 

 horseback and afoot and worked with the aid of sturdy Tibetan men and women, of 



