﻿THE 
  COMMON 
  KOKLASS 
  PHEASANT 
  AND 
  ITS 
  ALLIES 
  

  

  The 
  Koklass 
  Pheasants 
  of 
  the 
  Himalayas 
  present 
  a 
  rather 
  unique 
  state 
  of 
  affairs. 
  

   There 
  is 
  apparently 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  break 
  in 
  their 
  distribution 
  from 
  Afghanistan 
  or 
  Kafiristan 
  

   in 
  the 
  far 
  north-west 
  to 
  central 
  Nepal 
  in 
  the 
  east. 
  The 
  Koklass 
  inhabiting 
  this 
  area 
  

   have 
  been 
  segregated 
  under 
  some 
  four 
  names. 
  These 
  have 
  been 
  taken 
  to 
  indicate 
  distinct 
  

   species, 
  since, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  know, 
  none 
  has 
  ever 
  received 
  a 
  trinomial 
  name, 
  or 
  subspecific 
  

   denomination. 
  After 
  an 
  exhaustive 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  living 
  and 
  freshly 
  shot 
  birds 
  in 
  their 
  

   native 
  haunts 
  in 
  the 
  north-western 
  Himalayas, 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  collections 
  of 
  Koklass 
  

   Pheasants 
  in 
  many 
  museums, 
  both 
  in 
  America, 
  Europe 
  and 
  Asia, 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  me 
  more 
  

   logical 
  to 
  designate 
  these 
  forms 
  as 
  follows, 
  giving 
  them 
  in 
  order 
  from 
  west 
  to 
  east 
  : 
  

  

  Pucrasia 
  macrolopha 
  castanea 
  ......... 
  Kafiristan. 
  

  

  Pucrasia 
  macrolopha 
  biddulphi 
  ......... 
  Kashmir. 
  

  

  Pucrasia 
  macrolopha 
  macrolopha 
  Chamba 
  to 
  Kumaon. 
  

  

  Pucrasia 
  macrolopha 
  nipalensis 
  Western 
  Nepal. 
  

  

  My 
  reasons, 
  outlined 
  in 
  brief, 
  are 
  as 
  follows. 
  There 
  seems 
  little 
  doubt 
  but 
  that 
  

   macrolopha 
  forms 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  radius 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  adjacent 
  forms 
  of 
  Himalayan 
  and 
  other 
  

   Pucrasia. 
  In 
  a 
  large 
  series 
  of 
  skins 
  from 
  Kumaon 
  and 
  Garhwal 
  are 
  found 
  very 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  variations 
  from 
  the 
  more 
  normal 
  type, 
  which 
  are 
  tri-radiate, 
  pointing 
  in 
  these 
  

   three 
  directions 
  : 
  

  

  Chestnut 
  darkening 
  ventrally 
  and 
  encroaching 
  on 
  mantle 
  ; 
  pale 
  back. 
  Westward, 
  

  

  toward 
  biddttlphi 
  and 
  castanea. 
  

   Chestnut 
  darkening 
  ventrally 
  and 
  encroaching 
  on 
  mantle 
  ; 
  dark 
  back. 
  Eastward 
  

  

  toward 
  nipalensis. 
  

   Yellowing 
  of 
  the 
  mantle. 
  Northward 
  toward 
  xanthospila. 
  

  

  The 
  typical 
  macrolopha 
  from 
  Kumaon 
  and 
  Garhwal 
  are 
  undoubtedly 
  the 
  most 
  

   generalized 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  genus. 
  Going 
  westward 
  and 
  eastward 
  from 
  this 
  region 
  we 
  find 
  

   the 
  birds 
  becoming 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  specialized 
  in 
  colour, 
  but 
  not 
  in 
  pattern, 
  until 
  in 
  

   Kafiristan 
  in 
  the 
  one 
  direction 
  and 
  central 
  Nepal 
  in 
  the 
  other 
  the 
  two 
  extremes 
  are 
  

   reached. 
  

  

  In 
  many 
  specimens 
  even 
  from 
  central 
  Garhwal 
  — 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  distribution 
  of 
  typical 
  

   macrolopha 
  — 
  we 
  find 
  distinct 
  shaft-streaks 
  of 
  chestnut 
  not 
  only 
  on 
  the 
  hind 
  neck, 
  but 
  

   even 
  low 
  down 
  on 
  the 
  mantle, 
  and 
  as 
  we 
  go 
  westward 
  the 
  birds 
  merge 
  into 
  biddulphi. 
  

   In 
  many 
  pheasants 
  from 
  Koteguhr 
  the 
  ventral 
  chestnut 
  is 
  very 
  widespread 
  and 
  fully 
  as 
  

   dark 
  as 
  in 
  castanea. 
  The 
  more 
  extreme 
  castanea 
  forms 
  vary 
  much 
  among 
  themselves 
  

   in 
  this 
  character, 
  two 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  being 
  exactly 
  intermediate 
  between 
  castanea 
  

   and 
  biddulphi. 
  Gould's 
  statement 
  that 
  castanea 
  is 
  " 
  altogether 
  a 
  stouter 
  and 
  larger 
  bird 
  

   than 
  Pucrasia 
  macrolopha" 
  is 
  wholly 
  without 
  foundation, 
  and 
  was 
  probably 
  based 
  on 
  

  

  6 
  

  

  