﻿STYAN'S 
  KOKLASS 
  PHEASANT 
  

  

  Pucrasia 
  darwini 
  styani 
  Grant 
  

  

  Names. 
  — 
  Specific 
  : 
  styani, 
  after 
  Mr. 
  F. 
  W. 
  Styan, 
  an 
  English 
  ornithologist 
  who 
  has 
  done 
  much 
  collecting 
  in 
  

   eastern 
  China. 
  English 
  : 
  Styan's 
  Koklass. 
  

  

  Brief 
  DESCRIPTION. 
  — 
  Male 
  : 
  Like 
  Darwin's 
  koklass, 
  but 
  with 
  the 
  chestnut 
  almost 
  entirely 
  eliminated 
  from 
  

   the 
  plumage, 
  leaving 
  it 
  clear 
  black 
  and 
  grey, 
  comparable 
  only 
  with 
  the 
  mantle 
  in 
  the 
  former 
  subspecies. 
  Female 
  : 
  

   Unknown, 
  probably 
  indistinguishable 
  from 
  the 
  female 
  of 
  Darwin's 
  koklass. 
  

  

  Range. 
  — 
  Vicinity 
  of 
  Ichang, 
  Province 
  of 
  Hupeh. 
  

  

  GENERAL 
  ACCOUNT 
  AND 
  DESCRIPTION 
  

  

  This 
  species 
  is 
  known 
  only 
  from 
  two 
  skins 
  collected 
  near 
  Ichang 
  on 
  the 
  Yangtze 
  

   River 
  in 
  the 
  province 
  of 
  Hupeh. 
  The 
  assertion 
  (Ibis, 
  1899, 
  p. 
  298) 
  that 
  the 
  ventral 
  

   chestnut 
  is 
  absent 
  in 
  the 
  young 
  bird, 
  and 
  that 
  " 
  during 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  the 
  

   chestnut 
  band 
  gradually 
  appears," 
  is 
  wholly 
  false. 
  The 
  amount 
  of 
  chestnut 
  on 
  the 
  

   southern 
  koklass 
  is 
  entirely 
  an 
  individual 
  character. 
  

  

  The 
  describer 
  of 
  this 
  form 
  was 
  unfortunate 
  in 
  the 
  individual 
  which 
  he 
  chose 
  as 
  type 
  

   of 
  the 
  species, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  absolutely 
  indistinguishable 
  from 
  several 
  specimens 
  of 
  koklass 
  

   from 
  Fokien, 
  which 
  lack 
  the 
  ventral 
  chestnut, 
  and 
  which 
  come 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  locality 
  

   as 
  fully 
  typical 
  darwini 
  darwini. 
  The 
  type 
  styani, 
  for 
  example, 
  corresponds 
  exactly 
  

   with 
  the 
  British 
  Museum 
  darwini 
  specimen 
  labelled, 
  1905, 
  12-24, 
  1000, 
  Kuatun, 
  Ex. 
  

   Museum, 
  C. 
  B. 
  Rickett. 
  Both 
  are 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  age, 
  the 
  latter 
  being 
  in 
  somewhat 
  worn 
  

   plumage. 
  

  

  A 
  much 
  more 
  extreme 
  form 
  is 
  the 
  individual 
  which 
  is 
  described 
  (Bull. 
  Brit. 
  Orn. 
  

   Club, 
  XXIII. 
  p. 
  32) 
  as 
  a 
  "second 
  male," 
  and 
  "which 
  has 
  evidently 
  been 
  in 
  captivity." 
  

   The 
  left 
  wing 
  has 
  certainly 
  been 
  pinioned, 
  but 
  not 
  for 
  preventing 
  flight, 
  but 
  where 
  the 
  

   wing 
  has 
  been 
  almost 
  severed 
  by 
  shot. 
  The 
  plumage 
  of 
  this 
  koklass, 
  its 
  wing, 
  tail 
  and 
  

   crown 
  are 
  all 
  in 
  too 
  perfect 
  condition 
  for 
  its 
  having 
  been 
  in 
  captivity 
  even 
  a 
  day. 
  

  

  This 
  individual 
  represents 
  the 
  extreme 
  in 
  the 
  styani 
  character 
  of 
  loss 
  of 
  chestnut 
  

   and 
  should 
  stand 
  as 
  typical 
  of 
  this 
  form. 
  The 
  chestnut 
  has 
  not 
  only 
  been 
  eliminated 
  as 
  

   a 
  solid 
  central 
  ventral 
  marking, 
  but 
  has 
  been 
  extirpated 
  from 
  all 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  body 
  plumage, 
  

   leaving 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  whole 
  of 
  a 
  clean 
  black 
  and 
  grey 
  tone, 
  which 
  in 
  typical 
  darwini 
  is 
  seen 
  only 
  

   on 
  the 
  mantle. 
  Faint 
  buffy 
  edges 
  on 
  the 
  feathers 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  under 
  parts, 
  and 
  more 
  

   distinct 
  traces 
  on 
  the 
  decomposed 
  lower 
  belly 
  plumage 
  between 
  the 
  legs, 
  are 
  the 
  only 
  

   remaining 
  hints 
  of 
  this 
  colour. 
  

  

  One 
  other 
  character 
  not 
  noticeable 
  in 
  the 
  styani 
  type 
  male 
  is 
  a 
  distinct 
  glossing 
  of 
  

   green 
  over 
  the 
  terminal 
  black 
  markings, 
  such 
  as 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  feathers 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  

   mantle 
  ; 
  not 
  a 
  conspicuous 
  character, 
  but 
  interesting 
  as 
  hinting 
  of 
  what 
  might 
  result 
  if 
  

   another 
  step 
  should 
  be 
  taken 
  in 
  evolution. 
  

  

  SYNONYMY 
  

   Pucrasia 
  darwini 
  Styan, 
  Ibis, 
  1899, 
  p. 
  298. 
  

  

  Pucrasia 
  styani 
  Grant, 
  Bull. 
  Brit. 
  Orn. 
  Club, 
  XXIII. 
  1908, 
  p. 
  32 
  ; 
  Courtois, 
  Ibis, 
  1913, 
  p. 
  16. 
  

   Pucrasia 
  darwini 
  styani 
  Beebe, 
  Zoologica, 
  I., 
  No. 
  15, 
  1914, 
  p. 
  278. 
  

  

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