THE PHEASANT. 871 



yellow-buff w'th spot-like purple tips ; tail : ground colour of 

 central part of feathers paler and more olive and black bars 

 broader than in colchicus and on both webs of all feathers except 

 outermost where they are mostly obsolete, bars extended to 

 edges of feathers as dark rufous-purple ; wing-coverts less buff 

 -and more pale slate -grey (sometimes bluish) than in colchicus. 

 JS.B. — British Pheasants are a mixture of the two races and, 

 though usually more like the old English Pheasant (Ph. c. 

 colchicus) than the Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant (Ph. c. torquahis), 

 now usually show some white ring round neck but often this is 

 incomplete and sometimes merely indicated by some white tips ; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts usually a mixture of the two forms ; 

 wing-coverts often with some blue-slate ; upper-mantle and flanks 

 usually dark and more like Ph. c. colchicus. There is one complete 

 moult in late summer and early autumn, usually complete in Sept. 

 but sometimes not quite complete in Oct. 



Adult female. — Crown black, feathers edged at tip and with 

 broken bars of pinkish-brown ; back of neck rather pearly -pink 

 with black subterminal bars (often spot-like), feathers usually with 

 slight purple tips ; upper -mantle rufous -chestnut, feathers with 

 large hollow black centres, pearly-pink tips narrowly edged black 

 and usually a very narrow purple or green spot or edge ; rest of 

 upper -parts black, feathers margined pale buff and brown, which is 

 mottled black on mantle and scapulars, latter having large bright 

 brown subterminal patches ; chin and upper-throat buff often 

 tinged pink ; lores and feathers over eye pinkish -buff (those 

 immediately round eye whitish) very narrowly margined black 

 giving a speckled appearance ; sides of neck, base of throat and 

 upper-breast rufous-pink, feathers with black spot-like centres and 

 margined pearly-pink, and tips very narrowly margined black and 

 on breast speckled black ; sides and flanks same but not so rufous, 

 feathers with several black bars and tips more buff with wavy pale 

 brown vermiculations ; rest of under-parts buff with wavy pale 

 brown vermiculations ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale 

 brown barred and tipped buff ; tail-feathers shaded rufous-brown, 

 edges buff -brown vermiculated blackish, with broad irregular black 

 bars intersected with buff -brown, those on central feathers rather 

 widely spaced and not reaching edges, on outer ones closer and 

 right across ; primaries as male but buff bars usually better 

 defined ; secondaries barred pale buff and brown-black mottled 

 rufous-brown ; primary-coverts barred brown-black and pale buff ; 

 wing-coverts mottled and freckled pale brown and with black 

 centres broken into bars or barred pale buff, inner median and 

 greater and inner secondaries subterminally bright brown as 

 scapulars. N.B. — Females (usually, or perhaps always, with 

 injured or diseased ovaries) occur with varying amount of male 

 plumage (sometimes with spurs). Hybrids with Black Grouse, 

 Capercaillie and domestic fowl occur while a fairly frequent buff or 

 cream-coloured variety has been called the Bohemian Pheasant. 



