﻿7° 
  A 
  MONOGRAPH 
  OF 
  THE 
  PHEASANTS 
  

  

  The 
  form 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  is 
  much 
  the 
  same 
  in 
  all, 
  and 
  the 
  sexes 
  are 
  very 
  unlike. 
  The 
  

   chief 
  characters 
  of 
  the 
  males 
  are 
  brilliant 
  metallic 
  colouring, 
  coppers, 
  greens 
  and 
  purples, 
  

   a 
  bare, 
  red 
  facial 
  area, 
  feathery 
  ear-tufts 
  rising 
  from 
  the 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  crown, 
  a 
  long, 
  

   tapering 
  tail, 
  and 
  the 
  lower 
  back 
  and 
  rump 
  with 
  disintegrated 
  fringes 
  of 
  such 
  length 
  

   that 
  these 
  parts 
  appear 
  hairy, 
  without 
  cohesive 
  webs. 
  Spurs 
  are 
  present. 
  The 
  females 
  

   are 
  dull 
  in 
  hue, 
  various 
  browns 
  and 
  buffs, 
  marked 
  with 
  darker 
  tints. 
  There 
  are 
  eighteen 
  

   tail-feathers, 
  so 
  graduated 
  that 
  the 
  inner 
  pair 
  is 
  usually 
  three 
  or 
  even 
  four 
  times 
  the 
  

   length 
  of 
  the 
  outer 
  ones. 
  The 
  ist 
  primary 
  is 
  about 
  equal 
  to 
  the 
  8th 
  and 
  considerably 
  

   longer 
  than 
  the 
  ioth. 
  

  

  The 
  genus 
  has 
  usually 
  been 
  considered 
  to 
  include 
  more 
  than 
  the 
  typical 
  birds 
  I 
  

   have 
  described. 
  Indeed, 
  Linnaeus 
  made 
  it 
  equal 
  almost 
  to 
  the 
  entire 
  family. 
  Authors 
  

   have 
  gradually 
  shorn 
  it, 
  first 
  of 
  one, 
  then 
  another, 
  well-marked 
  group. 
  

  

  Consistently 
  applying 
  my 
  criterion 
  of 
  genera— 
  that 
  of 
  geographic 
  non-overlapping— 
  

   I 
  have 
  removed 
  the 
  genera 
  Syrmaticus 
  and 
  Calofihasis, 
  including 
  the 
  Reeves, 
  Copper, 
  

   Elliot 
  and 
  Bar-tailed 
  birds, 
  from 
  Phasianus, 
  and 
  thereby 
  cleared 
  the 
  situation 
  of 
  the 
  

   difficult 
  condition 
  of 
  several 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  genus 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  locality. 
  As 
  I 
  

   have 
  said 
  elsewhere, 
  this 
  is 
  not 
  put 
  forth 
  as 
  any 
  widespread, 
  fundamental 
  law, 
  but, 
  like 
  

   my 
  subfamily 
  classification 
  by 
  tail 
  moult, 
  it 
  appears 
  to 
  apply 
  logically 
  to 
  the 
  group 
  of 
  

   birds 
  under 
  consideration. 
  

  

  Phasianus 
  is 
  thus 
  left 
  as 
  an 
  exceedingly 
  homogeneous 
  group, 
  with 
  the 
  loose-fringed, 
  

   hair-like 
  feathers 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  back 
  and 
  rump 
  as 
  an 
  important 
  distinguishing 
  character. 
  

   Correlated 
  with 
  this 
  simplicity 
  of 
  structure 
  we 
  find 
  a 
  wider 
  distribution 
  than 
  exists 
  in 
  

   any 
  other 
  phasianine 
  genus. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  devoted 
  much 
  time 
  to 
  the 
  plan 
  of 
  classification 
  of 
  this 
  genus, 
  and 
  have 
  

   successively 
  put 
  myself 
  in 
  the 
  frame 
  of 
  mind 
  of 
  the 
  "lumper" 
  and 
  the 
  "splitter" 
  of 
  

   taxonomic 
  forms. 
  Besides 
  careful 
  comparison 
  of 
  the 
  numerous 
  types 
  of 
  Phasiamis 
  in 
  

   my 
  own 
  and 
  museum 
  collections, 
  and 
  study 
  of 
  their 
  environment, 
  distribution 
  and 
  

   barriers, 
  the 
  facts 
  resulting 
  from 
  two 
  very 
  different 
  lines 
  of 
  experience 
  have 
  done 
  much 
  

   in 
  compelling 
  my 
  ultimate 
  decision. 
  First, 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  day's 
  shooting 
  in 
  

   various 
  parts 
  of 
  China, 
  often 
  resulting 
  in 
  the 
  securing 
  of 
  several 
  birds 
  from 
  a 
  single 
  

   covey. 
  Out 
  of 
  four 
  brace 
  of 
  pheasants 
  thus 
  killed 
  on 
  the 
  middle 
  Yangtse, 
  well 
  within 
  a 
  

   region 
  of 
  ring-necked 
  birds, 
  were 
  individuals 
  with 
  a 
  broad 
  white 
  neck 
  ring, 
  a 
  narrow 
  

   interrupted 
  ring, 
  and 
  a 
  third 
  showing 
  a 
  few 
  irregular 
  white 
  feathers 
  on 
  the 
  right 
  side. 
  

   The 
  coloration 
  of 
  the 
  wing-coverts 
  was 
  correlated 
  with 
  the 
  ring 
  or 
  ringless 
  condition, 
  

   being 
  much 
  whiter 
  in 
  the 
  first-mentioned 
  case. 
  A 
  variation 
  in 
  rump 
  colouring 
  in 
  

   another 
  bird 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  of 
  full 
  subspecific 
  value 
  if 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  killed 
  in 
  an 
  isolated 
  

   region, 
  unassociated 
  with 
  its 
  fellows. 
  These 
  birds 
  were 
  fully 
  adult 
  and 
  in 
  freshly 
  

   moulted 
  plumage. 
  Yet 
  within 
  the 
  space 
  of 
  two 
  rice-fields 
  of 
  moderate 
  size, 
  and 
  in 
  

   a 
  single 
  morning, 
  I 
  had 
  shot 
  three 
  recognizable 
  forms 
  or 
  "subspecies," 
  and 
  two 
  

   undescribed 
  ones. 
  Many 
  correspondents 
  have 
  told 
  of 
  similar 
  experiences. 
  

  

  The 
  second 
  array 
  of 
  facts 
  is 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  conditions 
  found 
  among 
  semi-wild 
  

   hybrids 
  introduced 
  into 
  foreign 
  countries. 
  One 
  example, 
  out 
  of 
  many, 
  must 
  suffice. 
  

   At 
  Tring, 
  England, 
  Lord 
  Rothschild 
  turned 
  down 
  pheasants 
  for 
  shooting 
  with 
  varying 
  

   amounts 
  of 
  colchicus, 
  torquatus, 
  and 
  even 
  versicolor 
  blood. 
  Later 
  a 
  strain 
  of 
  pallasi 
  

   blood 
  was 
  introduced, 
  and 
  from 
  this 
  mdlange 
  de 
  sang 
  there 
  arose 
  pheasants 
  which 
  were 
  

  

  