PH AS IAN U S SOEMMEP^IN GII
PII ASIA NU S SCEMMERRINGII.
SCEMMERRIN&’S PHEASANT.
PHASIANUS SCEMMERRINGII, Temm. Plan. Col. 487 & 488.—Gray, List of B. Brit. Mus. £1844). p. 24.—Gould, B. of Asia, part xix.—
Gray, .List GaH. ('1867) p. 29.—Wolf, Zool. Sketches, 2nd. ser. (186^) pi. Sclat.. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1863) p. 117. sp. 5.—Cass.
Perry’s Exp. Jap. vol. ii, p. 225..
GRAPHOPHASIANUS SCEMMERRINGII, Reichenb., Bon. Compt. Rend. 1856, p. 878.
PHASIANUS {3.CINTILLANS, Gould, B. of Asia, £1867), pt. xix. pl. Id. Ann. & Mag. Nat.. Hist. 3rd ser. vol. xvii. p. 150.
H ab. Japan, Niphon ( H e in e ) , Simoda (V on S ie b o l d ) , Yokohama ( H e in e ) , Nagasaki (W h it e l y ) .
T em m in c k was the first to bring to the notice o f ornithologists the fine bird here so faithfully represented, It was procuréd at Decima,
in Japanviby|Dr. yon Siebold (who was stationed at the time in that little-known country), and .figured in the APlanch.es Coloriées.’ It
appears to be a very common bird in its native land; and no sooner was Japan opened to foreigners than numerous, living examples were sent
both to : England and td the Continent. It has for some years formed one of the ornaments of the aviary, and has bled-at1 different periods
in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, and alaojin some of the Continental ones. The rich coppery .hue of the plumage,
almost metallic in some lights, renders it a very attractive object ; and;the long tail, carried clear of the ground, gives to it a very graceful
appearance. As but little has been recorded of the habits of this fine species in its native wilds, every thing which we have concerning
it is interesting ; and the following account is taken from Perry’s Expedition to Japan as related by Mr. Heine, the artist attached to the
command: he was then stationed at the Port of Simoda:—
-• “ On one of. my. excursions alluded to in, the preceding'notes, ,1 .came very suddenly upon another, species of Pheasant of very
beautiful colours, and with a very long tail. Being in the midst o f briars, and in an inconvenient position, -I missed him,, or, at least,
did not, injure him further' tha.rt to .shoot off his two long tail-feathers.
“ Returning on board in the evening, I found that ; opr: ;kind .and revered-;chaplain; the Rev. George Jones, had.purchased a Pheasant
of the same kind, from a Japanese root-digger in the, hills. It was .not wounded or otherwise injured, and .seemed to have;been either
caught in a- trap or found dead, To my inquiries, o l l t h e ,Japanese Dutch:;interpreter whetherithosfeiibirds: were ever hunted, I
could obtain but evasive-answers ;, if, however, such, is the case, the; right is undoubtedly reserved to the princes, and nobility: < -
-. “ It appears, that both these kinds of Pheasants (P . versicolor and the present species) inhabit similar, localities, and are abundant over
the;:sputhern and .the-middle parts of- the island o f Niphon, for even during, my rambles in, the vi.çinity-iof Yokohama, in the bay o f Yeddo,
Ì could, hear their calls in the little thickets and. woods scattered Over the country.” •$.
Also.,we have the following, contributed by Joseph Wilson, jun., M.D., who was the surgeon attached to.:tìie same expedition
“ Our acquaintance with, the Pheasants of Japan began soou after, our arrival Gat Simoda, oKabout thè middle of April 1854. A
Japanese brought to the landing-place a young bird which,: with the dark tips on his downy covering and his frequently repeated peet-peet,
might have been mistaken for a young Turkey but for his diminutive size. This interesting little fellowrha'd been obtained by hatching an
egg of a wild Pheasant, obtained in the hills, under a domestic fowliv
“ A few days after this a male Pheasant in full plumage was brought to the same place, dead but; uninjured,, and evidently but very
recently killed. The golden brilliancy of this bird’s plumage is probably not exceeded by any object in nature, and is quite equal in lustre
to the most brilliant markings of the Humming-Birds or the most highly burnished metal.. This; splendid colouring covers the whole body
of the bird, merely shaded with a little cppper-red about the tips and margins of the feathers,’So as to show the lance-head form of the
feathers. This specimen was; takeiuOn board the flag-ship ‘ Independence,’ arid preserved.
“ The specimen of the other speci'es.that I saw was shot by Mr. Heine, who made awetyibeShtiful painting of it. The two birds are
found in the same'locali ties,.-and seem to be similar in habits.
“ The Japanese system of agriculture, although very minute, and appropriating all available land to some useful purpose, yet affords
abundant, shelter for the native fauna,;. Scarcely any land is tilled except such as can be watered,.so that the tops-of the hills and large
portions ofimpuntainous and precipitous places are .appropriated to the growth of; timbe'r;>pr.left covered with the.primitive forest. These
wooded districts afford .shelterTor wild hogs, foxes, and .raccoons (the Skins of which were seen), as. well as for the Pheasants ; and they all
descend in; turn to plunder the crops or steal the chickens in the valleys. During the.first part o f our stay at- Simòda, the cultivated fields
afforded no food for .the Pheasants. The natives told us they were pleutiful in thè hills ; but ino one; was willing to undertake to show them,
and several rambles, through the bushes where these birds were supposed to feed ended, in -disappointment. Once only I had a glimpse of
a brood of young ones, near a hut in the mountains ; but they immediately disappeared by running very rapidly. Perhaps one reason of
our want,of suceessis to be found in the fact that the wheat was ripe and partially harvested before we left (June 24th), so that during
the time o f our.efforts they were enabled to fill their crops occasionally, from the wheat-fields and lie very close in the hills during the day
without being under the necessity of wandering in search of food.
“ The note of one or other o f these species of Pheasants was heard frequently. On the top of a precipitous hill, about a mile