PHASIANINjE. phasianus. 
233 
covered with small cutaneous papillae, intermixed with small 
plumules ; wings short, broad, convex, rounded ; the secon- 
dary quills nearly as long as the primary ; tail long, gradu- 
ated, slightly curved, of eighteen tapering feathers. 
151. Phasianus colchicus. Colchian Pheasant. 
Male with the head and upper part of the neck of various 
tints of green and blue ; the lower part of the neck and the 
sides yellowish-red, the feathers terminally margined with 
dark blue ; those of the fore part of the back and the scapu- 
lars having three bands of yellowish, black, and red, parallel 
to the edges. Female with the plumage greyish-yellow, va- 
riegated with black and brown. In a variety called the Ring- 
necked Pheasant, the colours are similar, but generally some- 
what lighter, and on the neck is a white band, extending along 
two-thirds of its circumference, narrow behind, broader at the 
two extremities. In another, the Bohemian Pheasant, the 
ground colour of the plumage, excepting that of the head, up- 
per part of the neck, and middle of the breast, is pale reddish- 
grey, or cream-colour, deeper and more glossy on the fore 
neck. Individuals are often white or of various colours. 
Male, 34, 32, 10, 2j, Female, 26, 30. 
The Pheasant, although not indigenous, is now generally 
dispersed in Britain and Ireland, being nourished in preserves, 
and in some measure naturalized, although it could not sub- 
sist with us were it left to its own resources. The males gene- 
rally keep by themselves in winter, and in spring separate, 
each selecting a particular spot, where he struts, and invites 
the females by crowing and clapping his wdngs. The female 
deposits her eggs in a slight hollow, scantily lined with dry 
leaves. They are from six to ten in number, an inch and ten- 
twelfths long, an inch and five-twelfths in breadth, pale green- 
ish-brown, or greyish-white, or yellowish-grey. Instances of 
crossing between the Pheasant and domestic fowl, and more 
rarely the Black Grouse, occur ; and sometimes the female 
assumes the plumage of the male. 
Common Pheasant. King-necked Pheasant. Bohemian 
Pheasant. 
Phasianus colchicus, Linn. Syst. Nat, i. 270.- — Phasianus 
colchicus, Temm, Man. d’Ornith. ii. 453. — Phasianus colchi- 
cus, Common Pheasant, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, i. 114. 
