﻿PLATE 
  LXI 
  

  

  REEVES'S 
  PHEASANT 
  

   Syrmaticus 
  reevesi 
  (Gray) 
  

  

  Many 
  years 
  before 
  it 
  was 
  seen 
  alive 
  this 
  gorgeous, 
  long-tailed 
  pheasant 
  was 
  known 
  from 
  Chinese 
  

   paintings, 
  and 
  was 
  thought 
  to 
  be 
  as 
  unreal 
  as 
  the 
  phoenix 
  or 
  dragon. 
  Marco 
  Polo 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  to 
  

   describe 
  the 
  bird 
  in 
  life. 
  

  

  It 
  lives 
  in 
  the 
  very 
  heart 
  of 
  China 
  among 
  the 
  gnarled 
  oaks 
  and 
  pines, 
  and 
  nests 
  among 
  the 
  grass 
  

   and 
  azalea 
  bushes. 
  In 
  spite 
  of 
  the 
  long 
  tail, 
  sometimes 
  six 
  feet 
  long, 
  the 
  Reeves 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  swiftest 
  

   and 
  strongest 
  flyers 
  among 
  the 
  pheasant. 
  

  

  