than those of a common Fowl, and, so far as I recollect, rather bluish in tint. The Chinese, who bring
these birds in, feed them with a kind of millet-cake; they are also very fond of barley, which is grown in
abundance in the mountain-valleys.”
We learn from Dr. Lamprey’s notes on the gallinaceous birds observed by him in China, that this is one
of the four kinds o f Pheasants he has seen in the markets of Tien-Tsin, the uninterrupted cold of winter
allowing of their being brought in large numbers from remote places, and preserving them fit for use u n til
the spring. “ The meat o f this kind of Pheasant,” says the Doctor, “ is exceedingly delicate, and the body-
is nearly as bulky as that of a small-sized Turkey." (Proe. Zool. Soc., f88'2, p. 221.)
To test the quality of the flesh of the Crossoptilon, I had a female, that had been killed by a male in the
Zoological Gardens, cooked in the ordinary way. It weighed over five pounds. The pectoral muscles were
white, like those of the Common Pheasant, and equal in flavour; but the legs and thighs, which were very
large in comparison with the size of the bird, were coarse, brown, and less palatable.
Mr. Bartlett states that these birds breed when only one year old, that the young birds assume the adult
plumage at the first moult, that the sexes are exactly similar, and that they are remarkably hardy and ex-
treinely tame. (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1868, p. 115.)
Mons. Armand David, the French Missionary at Pekin, to whom the authorities of the Museum o f Natural
History at Paris are indebted for the specimens of Orossoptilm auritum in their collection, “ met with these
rare birds for the first time in July 1883, in the northern valley o f a high mountain, about fifteen leagues to
the west of Pekin. The female only differs from the male in being slightly smaller in size, and in having
the spurs but little developed; and the nuptial plumage and that of winter are identical. Captured and
placed in an aviary, these birds become gentle and familiar; their voice is varied, but closely resembles that
of the domestic Fowl. The Chinese know the bird by the name of Ho-ki or Gho-hy. I t dwells in small
numbers in the most wooded places of the mountains. Three specimens killed in July had their crops filled
with the leaves of Cytisw, while those procured in winter contained nuts, various kernels, leaves Of
mugwort, ferns, and, above all, roots of orchids and other succulent plants, coleóptera, worms, and caterpillars.
When I killed the three adults above mentioned, there were four other old ones and fifteen
young, all feeding together in a neighbouring field. Were they two families united ? They perch readily,
and carry their tails elevated, like the common Fowl.” (Nonv. Archiv. du Mns. d’Hist. N u It
tom. i. p. 13.) '
The male has the short, velvety, and partially curled feathers clothing the head deep glossy black ; sides o f
the head devoid of feathers, and of a deep blood-red, below which is a conspicuous lengthened tuft of silvery
white feathers directed backwards and upwards ; chin and throat silvery white, tinged with grey; neck and
the anterior portion o f both the upper and under surfaces of the body deep, glossy, purplish black’, g r a d u a S
becoming paler on the latter, until it fades into leaden grey on the vent and thighs, and into a l¿ h j¿ r grey
on the under tail-coverts ; on the former, or upper surface, the purplish black becomes of a hair-brown bri
the upper part of the back aud wings ; lower part of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts hoary g re y ;
all the tail-feathers grey at the base and purplish blue on their apical portion ; irides light orange ; bill
fleshy; feet sealing-wax r e d ; nails horny.
Total length 33 inches, bill I f , wing 12f, tail 17, tarsi 4.
The figure is about two-thirds of the natural size.