ZOOLOGY. 489 
inhabited portions of Chi-li and Shan-si. During the winter it is usually seen in small 
coveys. When alarmed they cackle volubly, but if not too closely pursued, they will 
usually sneak through the grass rather than fly. 
Chrysolophus pictus (LINN£US). Golden Pheasant. 
Phasianus pictus LINNUS: Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, 158 (China). 
The golden pheasant is a fairly common bird in the basin of the Han river, in Shen-si, 
Although we seldom saw it alive, we found pheasants of this species for sale in villages 
in the Ts’in-lings and along the Nan-kiang. 
(?) Phasianus decollatus SwInHOE. 
Phasianus decollatus SWINHOE: Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1870, 135 (Szechuen). 
The commonest pheasant of southern Shen-si probably belongs to this species. We 
saw single individuals here and on our journey through the Ts’in-lings and the valley of 
the Han river, and the loud and characteristic call of the male bird was one of the common 
sounds of the region. At Ta-ho-pa, on the 7th of May, I saw several newly hatched chicks 
of this species which had been captured in the neighborhood. 
FALCONIDZ. 
Haliztus albicilla (Linn&uS). Gray Sea-eagle. 
Falco albicilla LINN#US: Syst. Nat., ed. 10, I, 1758, 89 (Sweden). 
Observed occasionally along the Sha-ho, in the mountains of western Chi-li, in January. 
Buteo sp. 
Large hawks of this genus (probably B. hemilasius) were common in Shan-si, through 
February and March. They frequent the large poplars about the villages on the plains, 
and in these situations they evidently make their nests undisturbed. The scream of this 
bird is much like that of the red-tailed hawk (B. borealis) of the United States. 
Erythropus amurensis (RADDE). Eastern Red-legged Falcon. 
Falco vespertinus (L.) var. amurensis RADDE: Reisen im Siiden von Ost-Sibirien, 11, 1863, 102, 
plate 1, 2 (Amurlande). 
Although we saw this only in eastern China, during the autumn it was one of the most 
abundant birds. Several of these little falcons could be seen, at almost any time, soaring 
leisurely over the harvest fields and frequently stopping to hover over some point which 
seemed to attract their attention. They were almost as numerous among the marshes 
which border the Yellow river. 
Specimen No. 6001. Collected October 12, near T6-chéu, Shan-tung. 
Milvus melanotis TeEMMINCK & SCHLEGEL. Black-eared Kite. 
Milvus melanotis TEMMINCK & SCHLEGEL: Fauna Japonica 1845, 14, plate 5 (Japan). 
Next to the magpie and the house sparrow the black-eared kite is probably the most 
wide-spread and familiar bird in China. From the plains of Manchuria southwest to Shen-si 
and the Yang-tzi valley, its presence is rarely lacking. The favorite haunts of these birds 
are the villages and cities; Peking and other capitals support hundreds of them, and as 
they show little fear of men, it is evident that they are not often molested. In winter their 
huge nests are conspicuous in the trees of such cities, and a view of the city wall seems 
hardly complete without one or two kites perched upon the battlements. But this species 
is by no means confined to the populous plains; its hoarse screams are quite as familiar 
sounds among the rugged mountains of Shan-si and Shen-si. 
Like most other hawks the black-eared kite begins its nesting early. Several pairs 
were observed building late in March, in southern Shan-si. 
