•duii VBinreH'NTW
T H AM f H
THAUMALEA PICTA.
GOLDEN PHEASANT.
PHASIANUS PIOTUS, Linn.'Syst.'.Nat. (1766)*sp;;27<2.— GmeL.Syst.Nats vol.i;.p/743.-r-Shaw, Mas. Lev; p.:206, pi.;50.-rPall. Zoog. Rosso-
Asiat. vol. ii. p. 86;—Temm. Man. Ornith.,2nd editi'yoli.,i.-p. xfe-;-Id.'Hlsfe;fig;-&; Gall. voL.-H* -p. 341, et vol.iii. p. 671—Edwards, Birds,
pl.-69lM.2pH2&
FAISAN DORE DE LA CHINE, Buff. Hist. Nat. Qis. vol.. ii. p., 355.—Id. Plan. Enlum. 217.
PAINTED PHEASANT, Lath. Gen. Syn. ■ra^iv. p. 717.—Id. Nat. Hist. Birds, vol. viii. p. 94.
NYCTHEMER® PICTUSrSwains. Glassif. of B. vol. Hi p. 341.
THAUMALEA PICTA, Wagl. Isis (1832), p. 1228.—Gray, Gen. B. vol.'fii|(1845) sp. 1—Id. List B. Brit. Mus. (1844) p. 24.—Schrenck, Amur-
Reise, vol. i: p. 521.—Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1863) p. 117. sp. 1.—Swinh. Proc, Zool. Soe. (1863), p. 307 Gould, B. of Asia, pt. xviii.
—David, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1868) p. 210'.
CHRYSOLOPHUS PICTUS, Gray, 111: Ind. Zool. pi. 41. fig. 2.^G|R. Gray, List Gall. (1867) p. 29.
EPOMIA PICTA, Hodgs., Gray, Zool. Misc. p. 85.
H ab. South Dauria; Desert, Mongolia ( P allas) ; Amoor ( S ch r en ck ) ; China, provinces of Kansu, Sechuen, Hoonan, and Hooper
( S w in h o e ) .
One of the longest-known species o f Pheasants, the present bird still retains its position as one of the most beautiful. Early
introduced into Europe frlgi, China, its native country, it is fairiilian to every one* ; and no bird is more suited,, both as regards its
gentle disposition and strong contrasting colours of plumage, to become an inhabitant of the aviary. It breeds readily in
confinement; and the chicks are not difficult to rear, but grow rapidly. Nothing is more beautiful than to see a number of these
birds scattered about upon a lawn, their active movements executed with much grace, while their scarlet breasts appear to
great advantage against the bright green grass. The ruff of the male is capable of considerable extension ; and when paying his
addresses to the female, he is accustomed to draw it entirely over the side o f liisf face which is nearest to her, as is shown in
the reduced figure in the Plate. Mr. Swinhoe has furnished me with the following facts regarding this species :—“ Thaumalea
picta is found in the provinces of Hoonan, Kweichou, Yunnan, S.W. Hooper, and S.E. Szechuen. It is very common about the
mountains near Ichang, and is brought thence to the Hankow market. Europeans have shot it near the banks of the Yangtsze,
100 miles north of Hankow. It is taken to Canton from the Hoonan provinces by the Meiling Pass, and exposed in the bird-
shops for sale; Those offered are nearly always males and wild captures. The Chinese do not offer to hunt them in captivity.
A different species occurs in Japan, wanting the spots on the tail, and with darker ruff and blackened chin and throat. I could
not ascertain whether this was wild in Japan. It may have been introduced there from China in former years, and altered in
the course of time. The Japanese breed Pheasants and produce strange crosses. I saw a bird o f very curious appearance at
Yokohama, which looked to me like a hybrid between the Silver and Gold Pheasants. I also saw in the shops P . torqualus ; but
I believe the examples of this were lately brought from China.” The black-throated bird referred to above by Mr. Swinhoe
has been described as distinct—which it appears to be, as it presents many differences. from the present species in all stages of
plumage. When a t Antwerp lately I saw a male T. Amherstioe, which was mated with a female T . picta ; and six eggs were the
result. Whether they will prove to be fertile remains to be seen ; but a cross between these species could not be otherwise than
beautiful. Of the habits of this species we know absolutely nothing, collectors appearing satisfied with obtaining so charming
a bird without paying any particular attention to its mode of life. Père David writes, in the ‘ Zoological Proceedings’ for 1868,
that the Thaumalea picta is unknown in the north of China, and that, without doubt, it is an error to state the bird is found in
Dauria. I t is more properly an inhabitant o f the mountains in the western centre of China, and further westwards in the same
latitude.
The male of this beautiful species has the top of the head and occiput covered with a long silky amber-coloured crest—an
extensive ruff, springing from the back o f the head, hiding the neck. The feathers of these ornamental appendages are deep orange-
red, with a dark blue bar a t the tip, and can be spread out and brought over the face at will. Mantle deep green, tipped with
velvet-black ; scapulars dark crimson. Primaries brown, with a line of buff on the outer web ; terminal portion of shaft buff ;
secondaries deep brown, mottled with chestnut, tertiaries rich blue; back and rump golden yellow; throat light rufous-brown, rest
of uuderparts scarlet. Upper tail-coverts very long and narrow, crimson. Tail very long, the two central feathers rich rufous
brown, covered with irregular circles o f blackish brown, giving to them the appearance of being spotted with bully brown ; the rest
of the tail-feathers diagonally crossed with dark brown. All the tail-feathers light buff at their tips. Bill greenish yellow. Feet
and tarsi pale green.