CHINESE PEACOCK-PHEASANT. 
principal characters of this bird are the same 
with those of the Pheasant, the little varia- 
tions ought not to seclude it from that ar- 
rangement : for, I may still ask, who has a 
•right to fill these principal characters? To de- 
cide, for instance, that the negative attribute, 
of having neither crest nor membrane, is more 
essential than the shape or the size ? and to 
pronounce that all birds which resemble each 
other in characters arbitrarily selected, must 
also agree in their true properties ? 
In laying aside the name of Chinese Pea- 
cocky I have a6ted conformably to the testimo- 
ny of travellers ; who assure us that, through 
the vi^hole extent of that vast countiv, there 
are no Peacocks but such as have been intro- 
duced frcrn abroad." 
Notwithstanding what is above advanced by 
Bufion, and the different opinions of systema-f 
tic writers, we see no sufficient reason for re- 
jecting the name originally given by Edwards 
to this bird. We confess, however, that by 
•blending the peculiarity of the double spur with 
the general appearance of the bird, a good 
Linnxanist might form a still more scientific 
appellation than it has yet received. 
