WHITE-TAILED WATTLED PHEASANT 161 
size. In fully adult males they vary from 7 to 10 mm., while in several birds of the 
same age I have seen them merely undeveloped flattened nodules. 
There has been much misconception as to the length of the wattles, both in their 
retracted and extended condition. I have examined living adult males carefully when 
they were in a state of emotional rest, and then seen the wattles somewhat extended 
when the birds became alarmed. Again I have seen the wattles still further lengthen 
when two males were beginning to show off before a female, and finally, after manipula- 
tion of the wattles in both living and freshly-killed birds, I realized that the amount 
of possible lengthening and expansion has been greatly exaggerated. In the Museum 
in Kuching, Sarawak, are two adult male White-tails said to be mounted by Hose. 
The wattles of these birds have been stretched to their utmost while pliable and pinned 
in this position, thus giving a most remarkable appearance to the head. After watching 
the movement of the wattles in live birds and dissecting the musculature in dead 
specimens, I am certain that any such extension as the taxidermist has produced in 
these cases is wholly false. I give in tabular form the wattle measurements in 
millimetres of these falsely-stretched ones ; of the natural normal length of the retracted 
wattles, and of what I consider to be the greatest length possible when the bird is 
showing off before the female. 
Artificially Normatly Normally 
stretched retracted extended 
Loral : : 17 6 II 
Occipital . : 90 13 24. 
Gular ‘ : 107 32 56 
Thus the bird is unquestionably able to increase the length of its wattles nearly 
100 per cent. in the case of all three pairs. 
ApULT FrmMaALeE.—Entire upper body plumage brownish-buff vermiculated with 
black, except on the hind neck, where the feathers are almost wholly dull, brownish 
buff. The wing-coverts are slightly more rufous. The black secondaries have very 
coarse vermiculations in the form of numerous wavy, oblique lines of a conspicuous 
rufous buff colour on the outer web and a very indistinct dim rufous on the inner. 
The primaries are sometimes indistinctly mottled with rufous buff on the outer web, 
or they may be plain rufous brown on webs. The upper coverts and tail are rich 
chestnut, sometimes irregularly mottled with black, more rarely plain chestnut. The 
tail is paler beneath, with very conspicuous brownish-white shafts, while the usual 
number of rectrices is twenty-six. Chin and throat whitish, shading into yellowish 
buff on the side and lower neck. Under-parts quite uniform, pale rufous buff, faintly 
mottled with dark brown. The pale brown shafts are quite conspicuous. All three 
pairs of wattles are clearly distinguishable in this sex; the loral as minute nodule8, the 
two other pairs as short flaps about 3 mm. in length. The occipital pair show no 
evidence of bifurcation. The spurs are sharp-pointed but minute. Facial skin clear 
blue; iris, legs and feet bright red; mandibles black, the tips paler horn colour. 
Weight, 24 lbs. Bill from nostril, 19 mm.; wing, 230; tail, 175; tarsus, 70; middle 
toe and claw, 50. 
CHANGE OF CoLouR IN ADuLT MusEum Sprcimens.—The adult White-tailed 
Pheasants undergo considerable change in colour in the course of years even in dark 
VOL. II Y 
