﻿NEPAL 
  KOKLASS 
  PHEASANT 
  29 
  

  

  separation 
  from 
  macrolopha, 
  and 
  one 
  series 
  of 
  six 
  specimens 
  from 
  central 
  Nepal 
  shows 
  

   the 
  chestnut 
  mantle 
  at 
  its 
  greatest 
  development. 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  this 
  fact, 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  

   birds 
  collected 
  at 
  Jemlah 
  and 
  the 
  vicinity 
  in 
  western 
  Nepal 
  are 
  without 
  the 
  chestnut 
  

   on 
  the 
  mantle, 
  or, 
  if 
  present, 
  it 
  occurs 
  only 
  in 
  irregular 
  spots 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  is 
  found 
  

   sporadically 
  in 
  individual 
  macrolopha 
  from 
  Garhwal. 
  So 
  the 
  evidence 
  shows 
  that 
  

   the 
  chestnut-mantled 
  birds 
  are 
  the 
  farthest 
  removed 
  geographically, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  in 
  

   colour 
  and 
  pattern, 
  from 
  the 
  central 
  form. 
  

  

  This 
  entirely 
  does 
  away 
  with 
  the 
  theory 
  that 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  chestnut 
  mantle, 
  

   castanea 
  and 
  nipalensis 
  are 
  contiguous 
  geographically 
  and 
  are 
  more 
  closely 
  related 
  

   than 
  to 
  the 
  intervening 
  macrolopha. 
  The 
  great 
  increase 
  of 
  the 
  ventral 
  chestnut 
  in 
  

   castanea 
  is 
  another 
  character 
  absolutely 
  separating 
  these 
  two 
  forms, 
  except 
  through 
  

   their 
  common 
  ancestor, 
  macrolopha. 
  

  

  In 
  order 
  to 
  define 
  this 
  subspecies 
  with 
  any 
  clearness 
  or 
  definiteness, 
  we 
  must 
  

   wholly 
  ignore 
  the 
  many 
  intermediate 
  individuals, 
  each 
  varying 
  widely, 
  which 
  have 
  

   been 
  collected 
  in 
  the 
  western 
  part 
  of 
  Nepal 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Jemlah. 
  The 
  series 
  

   which 
  I 
  have 
  examined 
  from 
  considerably 
  farther 
  east 
  shows- 
  a 
  more 
  uniform 
  and 
  

   altogether 
  extreme 
  type 
  of 
  colouring, 
  which 
  we 
  must 
  substitute 
  for 
  that 
  of 
  Gould 
  and 
  

   others. 
  

  

  The 
  description 
  which 
  Grant 
  gives 
  may 
  be 
  applied 
  to 
  Jemlah 
  Koklass 
  on 
  the 
  

   whole, 
  as 
  a 
  first 
  step 
  eastward 
  from 
  macrolopha 
  on 
  the 
  way 
  toward 
  nipalensis. 
  Gould's 
  

   original 
  description 
  takes 
  us 
  another 
  step, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  far 
  from 
  the 
  extreme 
  type, 
  which, 
  

   if 
  anything 
  at 
  all, 
  must 
  stand 
  for 
  nipalensis. 
  As 
  we 
  shall 
  see, 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  characters 
  

   which 
  mark 
  the 
  latter 
  which 
  are 
  not 
  found 
  in 
  all 
  conditions 
  of 
  gradation, 
  leading 
  

   to 
  the 
  very 
  palest 
  of 
  macrolopha 
  birds. 
  We 
  thus 
  find 
  male 
  nipalensis 
  characterized 
  

   by 
  intense 
  generalized 
  melanism, 
  with 
  increased 
  erythrism 
  only 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  

   surface. 
  

  

  DETAILED 
  DESCRIPTION 
  

  

  Adult 
  Male. 
  — 
  Head 
  and 
  neck 
  as 
  in 
  macrolopha, 
  except 
  that 
  the 
  crown 
  and 
  the 
  

   shorter 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  crest 
  are 
  warm 
  rufous 
  buff. 
  The 
  hind 
  neck 
  and 
  mantle 
  are 
  

   dark 
  chestnut, 
  the 
  black 
  being 
  confined 
  to 
  the 
  tip 
  and 
  two 
  narrow 
  lateral 
  lines 
  down 
  

   the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  webs. 
  On 
  the 
  upper 
  back 
  the 
  chestnut 
  dies 
  out 
  as 
  a 
  narrow 
  shaft- 
  

   streak. 
  The 
  back 
  is 
  black 
  with 
  scarcely 
  a 
  trace 
  of 
  white 
  edging, 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  lower 
  

   back 
  a 
  light 
  margin 
  persists, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  rump 
  and 
  upper 
  tail-coverts 
  this 
  increases 
  

   in 
  width 
  and 
  becomes 
  tinged 
  with 
  buff. 
  The 
  chestnut 
  of 
  the 
  mantle 
  is 
  continued 
  

   directly 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  scapulars, 
  tertiaries 
  and 
  inner 
  secondaries 
  ; 
  on 
  the 
  former 
  as 
  a 
  bright 
  

   shaft-stripe 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  inner 
  web, 
  increasing 
  and 
  paling 
  posteriorly, 
  until, 
  on 
  the 
  inner 
  

   secondaries, 
  it 
  covers 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  feather, 
  as 
  a 
  clouded, 
  but 
  still 
  rich 
  rufous. 
  It 
  

   decreases 
  to 
  a 
  shaft-stripe 
  on 
  the 
  succeeding 
  secondaries, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  primaries 
  covers 
  

   the 
  narrow 
  outer 
  webs 
  with 
  a 
  warm 
  rufous 
  buff. 
  The 
  lesser 
  wing-coverts 
  are 
  jet 
  black, 
  

   the 
  greater 
  dark 
  brown, 
  uniform 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part, 
  but 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  with 
  an 
  

   evanescent 
  narrow 
  fringe, 
  white 
  on 
  the 
  lesser, 
  rufous 
  on 
  the 
  greater 
  coverts. 
  

  

  The 
  tail 
  is 
  entirely 
  free 
  from 
  grey 
  or 
  sandy 
  colour, 
  and 
  only 
  the 
  shorter 
  upper 
  

   tail-coverts 
  show 
  even 
  the 
  buffy-white 
  fringe 
  of 
  the 
  rump. 
  The 
  longer 
  ones 
  are 
  

   similar 
  to 
  the 
  central 
  rectrices, 
  chestnut 
  with 
  a 
  central 
  line 
  of 
  black. 
  The 
  chestnut 
  

  

  