SCLATER'S IMPEYAN PHEASANT 157 



shining reddish copper. Mantle, longer scapulars, inner median and greater wing- 

 coverts and tertiaries deep purple changing to metallic green. Coverts around extreme 

 bend of wing form a patch of brilliant metallic green, changing to blue and purple. 

 Shorter scapulars and remainder of wing-coverts golden green and rich glowing copper. 

 Inner secondaries shining golden green ; this disappears as we proceed outward, until 

 the last trace vanishes from the outer webs. Primaries and their coverts dead black. 

 Back, rump and upper tail-coverts pure white, with very narrow, black, shaft-streaks on 

 the rump and shorter tail-coverts. All of the white feathers show a wide, glistening 

 white, somewhat disintegrated fringe. Entire under plumage dark brownish black, 

 glossed with purple on the throat, sides and flanks. Tail rich dark chestnut, with a 

 broad terminal band of white ; the concealed half of the feather is black, with five to 

 seven irregular white crossbars, much broken into spots. The tarsus is feathered well 

 down on the front and sides. 



Mandibles horny, orange-yellow, darker at tips ; facial area bright blue ; irides 

 brown; legs and feet brownish. Length, 680; bill from nostril, 36; wing, 317; 

 tail, 223 ; tarsus, 73 ; middle toe and claw, 77 mm. The spurs are short, thick and 

 stout, about 13 mm. in length. Often a spur is present on only one leg, the other 

 being represented by a flattened nodule. 



Adult Female. — Lores, chin and throat white. Crown, face and neck all around 

 brownish black with a conspicuous V-shaped, subterminal, buff mark, while on the 

 crown there is a small round spot farther down on the shaft. These coalesce on the 

 lower hind neck, and on the mantle and upper back they form a well-marked, pale, 

 rufous-buff shaft-stripe sending irregular, rather sparse mottlings over the remainder 

 of the feather, which is a rich umber brown. On the lesser wing-coverts the rufous 

 mottling becomes much more abundant, so that the dark colour is considerably reduced. 

 On the longest coverts and inner secondaries we find the mottling reduced again and 

 the rufous arranged in fairly regular transverse bars. The scapulars are dark brown, 

 with slight, irregular, mottled barring on the outer web, even this disappearing on the 

 primaries. 



The mid-back to the tail-coverts inclusive is characterized by a grizzled grey 

 coloration, a pale greyish-white background, very irregularly barred with dark brown, 

 the shining white rhachis giving the effect of a white shaft-streak. The mottling 

 becomes coarser posteriorly, so that the tail-coverts appear increasingly whiter. The 

 rectrices are black with narrow, white, somewhat irregular bars, the central pairs 

 showing lateral rufous mottling between the white bars, and all are broadly tipped 

 with white. 



Beginning abruptly on the upper breast we find the entire under plumage to be 

 a uniform fine vermiculation of pale buff on a dull umber background, both colours 

 however being about equal, giving a general olive tone. Posteriorly the vermiculations 

 become somewhat coarser, and on the sides merge gradually into the colder grey, more 

 coarsely patterned lower back and rump. 



Spurs are visible, being mere flattened nodules. The measurements are : length, 

 630; bill from nostril, 30; wing, 280; tail, 185; tarsus, 71; middle toe and claw, 

 75 mm. Mandibles yellowish ; legs and feet brown. 



