


HOUWINK S EXPER. CONC. THE ORIGIN. OF SOME DOMESTIC ANIMALS 169 
bankiva’s in Sumatra, is because they are, there, accompanied by other 
pheasants. The bird is undoubtedly native in Java, at least there is no 
reason whatever to assume that it is not; the senior author has seen 
and shot many of them in the rain-woods of the eastern part of the 
island himself, where to all appearances they were indigenous. 
As to the young birds, BEEBE gives the following description: 
Chick in down. Head fawn-coloured or yellowish buff; a wide maroon 
or chocolate coronal patch, pointed in front and narrowly borde- 
red with black. A dark brown line extends through the eye, and 
back over the ear-coverts. The dark crown is continued down the 
neck and over the back, but is split on the sides of the lower back 
and rump by two wide creamy-buff lines, these also outlined in 
black. Under-parts creamy-white, the breast sometimes deep 
buffy. Bill yellow; legs and feet, yellowish green. 
Juvenile plumage. In this phase the neck- and rump-hackles of the 
male are short, and broader, with considerable variation, due to 
the earlier or later moult of the individual bird. The colours of 
these feathers are brighter and more distinct, the dark centres 
being larger, and the edges yellow, rather than orange. The flight 
feathers and their coverts are dark cinnamon, mottled and finely ver- 
miculated with black. 
Desirous to know, whether all Bankiva’s confirmed to this descrip- 
tion, the senior author applied to the kindness of Mr. Percy R. LowE 
of the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, who courteously 
examined the series of Gallus bankiva-cocks present in that Museum, 
for which we beg to offer our sincere thanks. The nature of the ques- 
tions put to Mr. Lowe is apparent from his answer, which is here 
copied: 
a) whether there are any cocks with the breast not pure black, but 
more or less mottled with brown 
Answer — one from Raipur. 
b) whether any have a black or blackish median stripe on the hackle 
feathers 
Answer — 54 with, 14 without. 
c) whether any cocks have small brownish feathers just above tarsus 
Answer — 3 — one from E. Timor 
Raipur 
Burmah. 
3) 2) 
„ „ 
