LECTURE VI. 209 



common in our own country in a domestic state, 

 as the Gold Pheasant of China or P. pictus of 

 Linnaeus, of which if we had seen the figure only, 

 and not the bird itself, we might have rather ima- 

 gined it to have been a mere pictorial animal, 

 than a real or genuine species, so peculiarly vivid 

 and varied is its elegant plumage. 



The Argus Pheasant, so remarkable for its 

 size and beauty, though unaccompanied by any 

 brilliancy of colour, is a native of Sumatra, and 

 has for many years been considered as consti- 

 tuting one of the chief ornaments of the Eu- 

 ropean Museums. 



There exists in China some very large species 

 of Pheasant as yet undescribed, and known to us 

 only from the long tail-feathers, which are somC' 

 times brought over, and which are of such a 

 length as to exceed six feet : their colour is grey, 

 with very numerous brown bars. 



This may perhaps be the bird mentioned by 

 Marco Polo, who says that in the neighbourhood 

 of the city of Sirigas in Carthage are large Phea- 

 sants, with tails measuring from seven to ten spans 

 in length. 



LECT. I. p 



