﻿YELLOW-NECKED 
  KOKLASS 
  PHEASANT 
  33 
  

  

  One 
  author 
  speaks 
  of 
  being 
  certain 
  that 
  these 
  birds 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Tung-lin 
  or 
  

   eastern 
  woods, 
  some 
  one 
  hundred 
  miles 
  north 
  of 
  Pekin, 
  near 
  the 
  tombs 
  of 
  the 
  recent 
  

   emperors. 
  Here 
  in 
  the 
  foothills 
  of 
  the 
  mountains 
  these 
  pheasants 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  

   abundant. 
  

  

  I 
  spent 
  some 
  time 
  in 
  this 
  region, 
  exploring 
  both 
  outside 
  and 
  inside 
  the 
  Great 
  Wall, 
  

   but 
  only 
  once 
  caught 
  a 
  glimpse 
  of 
  a 
  Koklass 
  pheasant. 
  This 
  was 
  when 
  I 
  was 
  returning 
  

   from 
  a 
  long 
  day's 
  tramp, 
  thoroughly 
  tired 
  out 
  from 
  walking 
  rock-strewn 
  stubble. 
  I 
  had 
  

   halted 
  at 
  a 
  rivulet 
  to 
  drink, 
  and 
  was 
  sitting 
  on 
  a 
  stone, 
  when 
  a 
  Koklass 
  called 
  some 
  

   distance 
  away. 
  I 
  had 
  been 
  hearing 
  the 
  broken 
  cackle 
  of 
  true 
  pheasants 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   day, 
  and 
  had 
  not 
  heard 
  the 
  very 
  distinct 
  croaak 
  ! 
  croaak 
  ! 
  since 
  I 
  left 
  Garhwal 
  a 
  year 
  

   before. 
  The 
  day 
  was 
  cold 
  and 
  very 
  cloudy, 
  and 
  rain 
  had 
  fallen 
  at 
  intervals, 
  and 
  the 
  

   whole 
  rolling 
  plain 
  was 
  most 
  desolate, 
  stretching 
  out 
  endlessly 
  in 
  one 
  direction 
  and 
  

   ascending 
  steeply 
  into 
  the 
  foothills 
  of 
  the 
  mountains 
  to 
  the 
  north. 
  I 
  crept 
  as 
  silently 
  

   as 
  possible 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  sound, 
  but 
  as 
  I 
  had 
  no 
  dog 
  I 
  had 
  little 
  hopes 
  even 
  of 
  

   seeing 
  the 
  bird. 
  Through 
  the 
  mist 
  the 
  stunted, 
  dry 
  vegetation 
  showed 
  dull 
  brownish, 
  

   dripping, 
  saturated, 
  while 
  the 
  rocks 
  had 
  no 
  healthy 
  covering 
  of 
  moss 
  and 
  lichens, 
  but 
  

   a 
  dark, 
  shining 
  slime 
  which 
  made 
  walking 
  most 
  difficult. 
  Ahead 
  of 
  me, 
  the 
  rocky 
  

   character 
  of 
  the 
  ground 
  became 
  dominant 
  and 
  the 
  coarse 
  grass 
  consequently 
  thinned 
  

   out. 
  Across 
  this 
  space 
  I 
  saw 
  the 
  bird 
  as 
  it 
  ran 
  swiftly 
  from 
  the 
  cover 
  of 
  one 
  clump 
  of 
  

   dried 
  grass 
  to 
  another. 
  The 
  white 
  neck-patch 
  showed 
  conspicuously 
  and 
  the 
  white 
  

   tail-tips 
  flashed 
  for 
  an 
  instant 
  as 
  one-half 
  of 
  the 
  tail 
  was 
  spread 
  in 
  helping 
  the 
  bird 
  to 
  

   turn 
  sharply. 
  Although 
  I 
  tramped 
  for 
  another 
  half-hour, 
  until 
  dusk 
  settled 
  down, 
  I 
  

   could 
  not 
  catch 
  another 
  sight 
  of 
  the 
  pheasant. 
  

  

  The 
  two 
  birds 
  which 
  I 
  secured 
  in 
  Pekin 
  and 
  a 
  hen 
  which 
  a 
  Chinaman 
  brought 
  to 
  

   me 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  after 
  this, 
  had 
  all 
  three 
  been 
  trapped, 
  apparently 
  snared 
  by 
  one 
  leg. 
  The 
  

   birds 
  are 
  certainly 
  not 
  common 
  in 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  province 
  of 
  Chili, 
  and 
  probably 
  their 
  

   nearest 
  occurrence 
  in 
  numbers 
  is 
  only 
  to 
  the 
  westward 
  of 
  Shansi. 
  

  

  CAPTIVITY 
  

  

  The 
  Yellow-necked 
  has 
  always 
  been 
  about 
  as 
  rare 
  in 
  captivity 
  as 
  the 
  Common 
  

   Koklass. 
  Several 
  specimens 
  of 
  both 
  sexes 
  have 
  reached 
  England 
  alive, 
  and 
  the 
  record 
  

   for 
  one 
  showed 
  that 
  it 
  lived 
  in 
  the 
  London 
  Zoological 
  Gardens 
  for 
  four 
  months. 
  

  

  Aviculturists 
  in 
  France 
  have 
  had 
  better 
  success, 
  as 
  may 
  be 
  judged 
  from 
  the 
  

   following 
  abstracts 
  of 
  several 
  instances 
  of 
  successful 
  breeding 
  of 
  Yellow-necked 
  Koklass. 
  

   It 
  is 
  a 
  great 
  pity 
  that 
  no 
  detailed 
  notes 
  as 
  to 
  eggs 
  or 
  chicks 
  were 
  kept. 
  

  

  " 
  M. 
  Vekemans 
  [" 
  Bull. 
  Soc. 
  d'Acclim." 
  1872, 
  p. 
  384], 
  directeur 
  du 
  Jardin 
  Zoologique 
  

   d'Anvers, 
  dcrit 
  qu'il 
  a 
  obtenu 
  cette 
  annde 
  pour 
  la 
  premiere 
  fois 
  la 
  reproduction 
  du 
  

   Pucrasia 
  xanthospila. 
  Cette 
  belle 
  espece 
  de 
  Faisan 
  chinois, 
  rarement 
  importee 
  jusqu'ici, 
  

   n'avait 
  pu 
  6tre 
  encore 
  multiplied 
  en 
  Europe." 
  

  

  " 
  Je 
  possede 
  [" 
  Bull. 
  Soc. 
  d'Acclim." 
  1878, 
  p. 
  663] 
  depuis 
  1876 
  un 
  couple 
  de 
  Pucrasia 
  

   xanthospila 
  : 
  c'est 
  une 
  espece 
  tres-robuste. 
  Le 
  preuve 
  en 
  est 
  que 
  sur 
  7 
  sujets 
  qui 
  

   m'ont 
  et6 
  envoydes 
  du 
  Thibet 
  a 
  trois 
  reprises 
  differentes, 
  tous 
  sont 
  arrivds 
  en 
  bon 
  dtat, 
  

   tandis 
  que 
  la 
  plupart 
  des 
  Tragopans, 
  Crossoptilons, 
  Ithagines 
  succombaient 
  pendant 
  le 
  

   voyage. 
  

  

  VOL. 
  Ill 
  f 
  

  

  