230 



RING PHEASANT. 



green, with disunited silky webs : the breast is of 

 a red-purple, the whole of the feathers being 

 edged with a slight band of brilliant violet : the 

 feathers on the sides of the body are yellowish 

 white, with a triangular violaceous spot at their 

 tips : the belly, thighs, and abdomen, are black, 

 w^th violet reflections : the lesser wing-coverts, 

 and the tips of the greater ones, are grey, shaded 

 with green : the tail-feathers are olive in their 

 centres, with the edges shaded with red-violet : 

 they are transversely barred with black, and their 

 webs are disunited : the feet are grey : the tarsi 

 are armed with a spur also grey : the beak is yel- 

 lowish, and the irides are yellow. The female 

 differs considerably from that of the preceding 

 species, although at first sight there is a great 

 resemblance : this has a stripe of very short dusky 

 feathers beneath each eye : the plumage in general 

 is more dull than in the common Pheasant, and 

 the breast is distinguished by being considerably 

 spotted : the tail-feathers are also distinctly barred 

 with transverse black rays: in other respects si- 

 milar to the preceding. 



A variety, or rather mongrel, is common in 

 many aviaries ; this is the produce of the common 

 Pheasant and the present species : it is distin- 

 guished by possessing the characters of each, com- 

 bined in various manners ; and the white ring on 

 the neck is always narrower than in the original 

 species. 



The manners of these birds are somewhat dif- 

 ferent from those of the common Pheasant, and 



