THE GREY PEACOCK PHEASANT 69 



bars of pale or ferruginous buff. At the tip is a speckled, broken band of white or 

 greyish white. The ocelli occur in the same regions as in the male, but are in a much 

 lower state of development. Just below the terminal white band is a large rounded area 

 of black, which, especially on the inner greater coverts and tertiaries, is more or less 

 glossed with purple. This incipient ocellus is bounded above by an imperfect, speckled 

 whitish spot or band. The back, rump and upper tail-coverts are dark brown, stippled 

 and pencilled with buffy brown. Most of these feathers have the shaft of a glistening 

 white, and this hair line is expanded near the tip into an irregular, conspicuous white 

 spot. 



In all the females which I have examined there are ten pairs of rectrices. The 

 longer upper tail-coverts and the tail-feathers are brown, with numerous, widely separated, 

 imperfect, transverse bands composed of dots and blotches, buffy except on the tips of 

 the feathers in both series, where they are white. On the outer pairs the barring is lost 

 and the dots decrease. The ocelli are present on the rectrices, but are mere oval green 

 spots without frames of other colour, save an indefinite zone of blackish. There is 

 great variation in the development of these ocelli in different individuals, and I have 

 seen an adult bird in which there were traces of the gloss only on the central feathers. 

 In about half of the specimens the ocelli are present on the upper tail-coverts, in spite 

 of the assertions of many writers to the contrary. 



The face is bare, as in the male. The breast and under-parts are brown, minutely 

 speckled and lined with buffy markings, usually with curved, clear brown interspaces 

 breaking the mottled areas into transverse bands, fairly distinct on the visible portion 

 of the feather. The under tail-coverts show coarse, white speckling toward the tips of 

 the feathers. 



Terminal half of the beak black ; base and facial skin yellowish or pinkish flesh. 

 Iris pale grey to whitish. Legs and feet dark lead colour. Weight, 14 ozs. Spurs are 

 entirely absent, with usually no indication of their position. Length, 500 mm. ; bill 

 from nostril, 12; wing, 190; tail, 250; tarsus, 67; middle toe and claw, 55 mm. 



Chick in Down. — Dorsal surface from forehead to tail tuft inclusive, dark rufous 

 or chocolate brown, with two conspicuous, broad, lateral lines of pale yellowish buff, 

 extending from the scapular region to the tail. Wing down dark russet. Tips of 

 sprouting flights and greater coverts dark brown finely mottled with buff near the outer 

 and terminal margins. The coverts with an indistinct terminal shaft-spot, white in the 

 greater coverts, rufous in the median. Face, sides and under-parts yellowish buff, the 

 ear-coverts dark russet, and a tinge of the same colour on the breast. No distinct facial 

 markings. Seven primaries and six secondaries sprout early. 



Iris slate grey ; bill black ; legs and feet dark flesh colour. When first hatched the 

 young Peacock Pheasant resembles a golden chick, but is much darker. The bill measures 

 5 mm. ; tarsus, 20; middle toe and claw, 18. 



Juvenile Plumage. — This is a very indefinitely patterned garb. The down 

 persists on the head and neck for a long period. The juvenile feathering of the body, 

 wings and tail is dark brown, mottled at the tip and margin of the feathers, on the 

 upper surface with rufous, and below faintly tipped with whitish. The most decided 



