S u b f a m il y PHASIANINAE.
Ge n u s PHASIANUS.
Phasianus, Linn. Syst. Nat. (1766) voli, i. p. 270. Type Phamnus cqlc/iicics, _
• 32. P/mianus Shawi . . . • • • . •
33. P/mianus colchicus . . . • • ■ •
34. Phasianus insignis . . . . .. . . ■ .
35. P/iasianus mongolicus ’ . . . . ■ •
36. P/asianus torquatus . . . • • • • •
. 37. P/mianus formosanus. . . . • • . • __ • , ■
38. P/mianus decollatus . . . . . . . .
39. Phasianus elegans . . ..............................................................
Having examined the specimen of P. Sladeni mentioned as named in Dr.
therefore the term Sladeni must become a synonym of elegans.
40. Phasianus versicolor . . . . •
Plate L
Plate II.
Plate III.
Plate IV.
Plate W
Plate VI.
Volume II.
Volume II.
Volume II.
Volume II.
Volume II.
Volume II.
Plate VII. Volume II.
Plate VIII. Volume II.
I find it identical with this species;
Plate IX. Volume. II.
41. P/iasianus Wallic/ii . . . . • . .. . . . . . Plate X. Voluine II.
b. Syrmaticus.
42. Phasianus Reevesi . . . . . . . Plate XI. Volume II.
c. Graphep/iasianus.
43. Phasianus Scemmerringi . . . . . . • • • Plate XII. Volume II.
P . Samunerrihgi, var. scintillans • . • • • . . . • . . . . Plate XIII.; .Volume II.
43 bis. Calop/mis Ellioii . . • . . . . . . . . . Plate XIII bis.- Volume II.
G e n u s THAUMALEA.
Thaumalea, Wagler, Isis (1832), p. 1228. Type Thaumalea picta.
I have not employed Gray’s later term of Chrysolophus, as it is not necessary to reject the genus here used because it has
been employed in entomology; and also Gray’s name is inappropriate, since all the species are not possessed o f golden crests.
44. Thaumalea Amherstiee . . - . * . . . . . . . . ' . Plate XIV. Volume; II.
In a communication to the Zoological Society of London (1870, p. I l l ) , Mr. Swinhoe gave a copy of a, letter of M. Chauveau,
Bishop of Sebastopol, to Mr. Medhurst, H.M. Consul a t Hankow, stationed a t Ta-tsien-lou, on the Thibetan frontier, which was
as f o l l o w s “ You may possibly a t this moment wait for a letter about the Lady Amherst Pheasants. Our exertions have been
successful enough; and we have to-day, in my little mountain-home (so well known to Mr. Cooper), nine Lady Amherst Pheasants,
some o f them in a perfectly good state, some in a less suitable condition. These birds are exceedingly common on our hills,
but exceedingly cunning likewise. When they perceive, say the natives,, in any corner of the hill a small handful of Indian corn or
rice, suspecting a snare, they do not approach readily, but endeavour with their long tails to sweep away some o f the corn to
eat it without danger. Unfortunately we -cannot, a t any rate or by any means whatever, save the old ones; they refuse every
kind of food. If you present them with any thing they, willrnever eat, but they peck your fingers and wound you cruelly; their
captivity irritates them, say our good Chinamen. The young ones, on the contrary, appear to be • very gentle birds, eating corn
or rice in your hand without fear. They have magnificent tails, 24 inches in length generally.”
Monsieur Carreau, a French Missionary, now in Thibet, in a letter published in the Bulletin of the Acclimatization Society of
Paris for 1870, states that “ the Pheasant Houa-ze-rKy, or Flower-Pheasant of the Chinese, which the Europeans call Lady Amherst’s
Pheasant, always inhabits very rocky places. Whenever I met with this bird in the act of flying upwards, I have always been
able to shoot i t ; but if it was descending I could not procure it, for then it disappeared with excessive rapidity. Therefore, after
having hunted it several times, I have.found it more convenient to hunt it.a fte r the manner of tb|gnatives, wlio lay in wait for
it, and during the winter catch it in snares. When the mountains are covered with snow, and the streams frozen, the Flower-
Pheasants are obliged to descend to the plain to seek for w a te r;' but as soon as they are satisfied, th ey ascend again. In the
paths these birds follow each other in a line; and on this account, as they go in flocks and the snares are few in number, the
Chinese do not make much from the plumage and flesh of this beautiful Pheasant. Ta-lin-pin is situated on the 29th degree of
latitude and l i e 100th degree of longitude; the heat o f thèse -plàèes % the greater; since they are surrounded by high mountains
without any yegetation properly speaking. These mouiitains are covered with brambles, briars, and thorns, and also with grassy
places ; these are the spots where the Amherst Pheasant is met with in abundance. It is an error to think that, like other
Pheasants, it -is met with, in the forests ; I have never found it there, and as it only exists in the neighbourhood of Ta-lin-pin,
where there are no forests, I doubt very much if bushy tracts are to its liking. The more rocky and desolate the mountains,
the more certain.are you to .find the Flower-Pheasants, in companies composed of from twenty to thirty individuals. The habits
and economy of the Amherst Pheasant naturally accord with the places in'which it delights; it is an extremely wild bird. Last
y e a r 'I kept-one of these Pheasants in a stable covered with straw-; it hid itself so frequently and so well, that once I was
more than fifteen' days in the belief that it was dead. I fed it with bread and rice, and it became very fat. I f this bird should
be introduced into Europe, it would be useless to endeavour to make it comfortable; but if it has not in the aviary some
placed where, a t the least noise, it can hide itself, I doubt if it|!can be preserved. I think, first, that the climate of France
would be suitable for th;è Flowèr-Pheasantr; for the temperature o f the mountains it inhabits varies from 18 to 50 degrees.
These particulars of thé Uady Amherst’s Pheasant âre perfectly exact, since I have gone myself to seek for this species, have
frequently hunted it, captured; fed, and raised it. They would increase easily in Europe provided they were not too much exposed
to tlië heat of the sun, and that branches were given them ;tcy allow their hiding when frightened.’’
45. Thaumalea picta .• . • • • . • • • • • • Plate XV. Volume II.
46. Thaumalea pbscura . . • • • • • • • . . . • • Plate XVI. Volume II.
The plate was drawn froip the types | | | t h e Leyden Museum lent to me by “Prof. Schlegél.
47. Hybrid between T. Amherstiee and T . picta ................................................... Plate XVII. Volume II.
S u b f a m il y EUPLOCAMINiE.
G e n u s EUPLOCAMUS.
Euplocamus, Temrn. Plan. Col, (1815) vol. v., in text of Lophophorus. Type Euplocamus ignitus.
a. Gallophasis.
48. jEuplocamus albocnistatus . , . , •. • • • • • • • Plate XVIII. Volume II.
49. Euplocamus melanotic . . . • • • . . . ’ • • • Plate XIX. Volume II.
50. Euplocamus Horsfieldi . . . . • • . . . . . . Plate XX. Volume II.
MB in. Gcrinecus.
51. Euplocamus nyctlefnerus . . . . . . • • • • • • • • • Plate XXI. Volume II.
52. Euplocamus Ahdersoni . . • • • • • • • • • • Plate XXII. Volume II.
C. Grammatoptilus. .
0 . Euplocamus lineatus . . . . . . • • • • • • • • • • Plate XXIII. Volume II.
d. Diardigallus.
54. Euplocamus preelatus . . . . ■ ■ • • • ■ ■ • • • Plate XXIV. Volume II.
e. Hiei'oplasis.
55. Euplocamus Swinhoi . . • ■ . • • • • . . - ■ Plate XXV. Volume II.
f. Lophura.
56. Euplocamus igmVus . • Plate XXVI, Volume II.
57. Euplocamus nobilis . Plate XXVII. Volume II.
58. Euplocamus erythrophthalmus
59. Euplocamus pyronotus . .
g. Houppiferus.
Plate XXVIII. Volume II.
Plate XXIX. Volume II.