EUPLOCAMUS PYRONOTUS.
BORNEAN FIREBACK PHEASANT.
EUPLOCAMUS ERYTHROPHTHALMUS, Gray, 111. Ind. Zool. vol. ii. pL 39. fig. 1.
ALECTROPHASIS PYRONOTUS, G. R. Gray, List of B. Brit. Mus. (1844) p. 26.—Id. List of Gen. Birds (1841), -p. 78.
EUPLOCOMUS PERSONATUS, Temm. in Mus. Lugd,
GALLOPHASIS PYRONOTUS, Gray, Gen. of Birds, yd . iii.p. 498.
EUPLOCAMUS PYRONOTUS; Sclat. Proc. Zool. Soc. (1863) p. 120, sp. 7.—Blyth; Ibis (1870), p. 174.—Gray, List off iGall. (1867) p.
Gray, Hand-1. Birds, pt. ii. (1870) p. 259, no. 9599;.;
ALECTROPHASIS PERSONATUS;Bon.- Comp. Rend. (1856) p. 879:
H ab. Borneo.
A l t h o u g h this species received a name many years ago, it was never described until Mr. Sclater’s list of Phasiauidse was published
in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for 1863. It was first namedfAby Temminck, who affixed to the specimen in the
Leyden Museum the appellation of personatus; but this was never published, so of course could not be recognized. Mr. Gray, in
his ‘List o f Birds in the British Museum,’ called the species pyronotus, but gave no description, which was not added until nearly
ten years later, as stated by Mr. Sclater. In appearance it closely resembles its relative the E . erythrophthalmus, with which Mr.
J . E. Gray confounded it in his ‘ Illustrations o f Indian Zoology,’ but possesses characters sufficient to separate it. The females
are different also; and the hen of the present species may always be distinguished from that of the allied one by .having a light
throat, this part heiqg bluish black in the female erythrophthalmus. Nothing is known of the habits and economy o f the Bornean
Fireback Pheasant; and it is a very rare bird in collections, although probably very abundant in its island home. Only one
individual has ever reached Europe alive. This, a male, was lately brought from Borneo by Mr. William Jamrach, and is now
(August 1870) living in the Gardens o f the London Zoological Society, Regent’s Park. It is very wild, and keeps as much as
possible out o f view, being apparently as shy in disposition as its relative from Malacca, occupying-a neighbouring enclosure. It is
very doubtful if the Fireback Pheasants could ever be naturalized in Europe with any degree of profit, as their pugnacity would
at all times render them unfit associates for other species of this family; and the destruction which they would probably inflict
with their long spurs would not be compensated by any benefit conferred by 'their presence.
Male.— Head and neck light brown, barred irregularly with narrow blue lines, centre of feathers on lower part of neck white.
Back light brown, barred with blue and white lines, the former rather broad. Secondaries brown, irregularly crossed with light-
brown lines. Primaries dark brown, Upper part of rump orange, tipped with blue, lower half red broadly margined with deep
blue. Breast and flanks blue; central streak in flank-feathers, and outer webs mottled with bluish black. Upper tail-coverts rich
blue margined with black. Tail dark yellow. Bare .skin of f4j|§ red. Bill pale green. Legs and feet greenish grey.
Female.—General colour bluish black. Throat brown, Bare skin round the eye red. Bill and feet like the male.