PHASIANUS TOPvQU J f f l p n A S IAM ’ S TORQUATUS.
RING-NECKED PHEASANT.
PHASIANUS TORQUATUS, Gmel. Syst; Nat. (1788) t. i; p; 742i-#Temm. Pig. et Gall. t. iii. p. 670.—Less. Trait. Ora. (1831) p. 695. sp. 2.
—Hardw. 111. Ind. Zool. t.^-Blyth,.Cat. ;B. Mus.-Asiat. Soc. Beng. (1849)p. 245. no. 1474.—Gould, B. of Asia, pt. viii. pi. 1.—Gray,
List Gall, (i'867) p. 27.—Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1863) p, 116. ip. 2.—Gray, List B, Brit. Mus. (1844) p. 23.—Saurin, Proc. Zool.
• So.c. (1866) p. 436,—Swinfr, Ibis (1861) pp. 49 & 341, (1£62) p. 259,.(1863) p. 481.—Lamprey, Proe. Zopli. Soc. (1862) p. 221.—Sclat.
WolPs Sketches, 1st ser. (1861) pi. 37.—Gray, Gen. B: vol..iii. (1845) p. 497.—-Leach, Zool. Misc. pi. 66.—Schrenck, Reisen Amur,
"vol. i. p. 403.—David, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1868) p. 210.—Gray, Hand-list Birds, pt. ii. p. 257. no. 9575.—Hutton, Trans. N. Zeal. Inst.
(1870) p. 80,! .
PHASIANUS ALBOTORQUATUS, Bonnat. Ency.. Meth. vol. i. p. 184.
PHASIANUS TORQUATUS, var. MONGOLICA, Pall. Zoog. Rosso-Asiat. vol. ii, p. 84.
H ab. Eastern China,. from Transbaikalia, Amoorland into Southern China ( S chrenck) ; . Hankow, Tientsin, Foochow ( S w in h o e ) .
Province of Pekin (D avid ) ,
T h is is the common species pfiChina, and is-,mèt with in "great numbers m ïh e 'ë a s ^ n ^ p a rts of that vast empire. It has been known
to ornithologists for at very long period, as a glance at the above* list of- synonyms will, prove. Mr. Robert Swinhoe, in a letter to
myself, speaking of this bird, says that it “ occurs from Canton to Pekin, and northwards as far, I believe, as Ichang, about 1000
miles- up the Yangtsze. Near Hankow it is very common, as it is also a t all the places visited by Europeans north of the Yangtsze.
In the hills near Pekin it .is rather a rare bird. I have birds from Amoy, Hankow, and Pekin,‘and they show- no material difference
in plumage. In most parts of China they keep much to the hill-covers; but about Shanghai they resort to the cotton-fields, and,
occurring in large numbers, afford excellent sport. The Formosan race is readily distinguished' by its very pale lateral feathers and
nearly white eye;, - It is sp consent in its differences- that I am almost inclined to separate it as a distinct species. It is a common
bird on the hills of Formosa, ranging into the fields of sugar-cane in the north, North Formosa swarms with them.” Dr. Lamprey
states that the “ common Ring-necked Pheasant (P . torquatus) constitutes the fourth and most abundant kind found in the markets
(Tien-Tsin).;,. The numbers of these birds that are spld every winter, is wonderful. It was noticed that in birds' apparently of the
same age there was frequently a great disparity in size, almost giving one the idea of two species, though it is not improbable that
this1 difference may be attributed to the different circumstances of food and locality.”
“ The common Chinese Pheasant;’’ isays Mr. Dudley E. Saurin, in his communication to the Zoological Society (in Chinese Yeh-
chi, or Wild Fowl, P . torquatus) is found everywhere in the .north of China. I am not aware how much further south they are
found ¡than Shanghai ; but. in that neighbourhood, since the devastation of the ;ppttntry by the Tai-pings, they are shot by hundreds.
Thousands are brought down to the Pekin market in a frozen state by the Mongols, from as fa rn o rth as tlie Amour. At the new
Russian port of Poussiet, conterminous with Corea, the same Pheasant abounds. I myself have seen, them, wild in the Imperial
hunting-grounds north of Jehol, and in the mountains near Ku-peh-kow.”
“ In Foochow,” Mr. Swinhoe says, “ the Pheasant is the chief bird that incites the sportsman. It is found on the copse-
covered hill-sides, but by no means so common as in the flat country abou.t Shanghai. The Chinese nevertheless manage to get
abundance of them, and may be seen nearly every day hawking them about-.the streets for two 'shillings a-piece.” This species
was introduced into England many years , ago, and interbred freely with the P. colchicus, producing a white-necked variety, commonly
known as Ringnecks, and very abundant throughout the country. Indeed so general has hybridism been among the three
species (colçhicus, torquatus, and versicolor) naturalized in England, that at the present ’day it is exceedingly difficult to get
a pure-blooded individual of either of them. Père David states that this species is generally found ini all the great mountains in
the province of Pekin, but is never seen there in captivity. The P. torquatus was many years ago introduced into the island* of
St. Helena, where it increased considerably. The present representatives of the original stock differ somewhat, from their ancestors,
both in the colour and markings of their plumage—so much so, that they might almost be considered a race o f the true species,
so great has been the effect o f the physical causes peculiar to the island working through many generations. In the ‘ Transactions’
of the New-Zealand Institute for 1870, Captain W. F. Hutton, F.G.S., gives an account of the introduction of this species into
the province of Aukland. The first instalment o f two dozen, shipped from China, lost fourteen on the voyage ; and of the seven
individuals which arrived alive five were males. At the same period some of P . colchicus were liberated at a place called Mongouni.
In 1856 six more P . torquatus were turned loose. From these birds a large number , of descendants are now scattered throughout
the province, through the Waikato and Thames districts. It is probable that, although it is stated that the English Pheasants