eyes, destitute of feathers, and ■with a verrucose red covering, Wings short:
the first quill-feather narrow towards the.tip; the fourth and fifth feathers the
longest in the wing. Tail long, wedge-shaped, graduated;, containing eighteen
feathers. Feet—three to,es in front, one behind; the three: anterior toes united
by a membrane as far as the first jo in t; the hind toe articulated upon the tarsus,
which in the male birds is furnished with a horny, conical,, and sharp spur.
Both the generic and specific names of the Pheasant are
due to the mythological tradition which attributes to Jason
and his Argonauts the introduction of the bird from the
hanks of the river Phasis, in Colchis» This, classic ' stream
is .the modern Rion, which finds its way into the Black Sea
near the town of Poti, whence the railway now runs to'Tiflis,
the capital of the Caucasus p and |pMts unhealthy swamps
the descendants of the original stock are still to be - fcfund
in all their purity»- The head-quarters of this Pheasant
appear to he the marshy forests of the shores of the Caspian
Sea, as far east as the river Gurgan, near Astrabad; the: river-
valleys of the Caucasus, especially the Terek and Goulak up
to 8,000 feet elevation; the. neighbourhood of Astrakhan ;
and the northern portions of Asia Minor which border oibthe
Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora, particularly near Broussa.
It occurs as far south as Epbesu,s,v but Mr. Danford did nob
meet with it in the.Cilician Taurus, nor did Canon Tristram
find it in Syria. In Greece the regains of a species ©f
Pheasant have been disinterred- ait'pikermi, in Attica,, and its
modern representative still frequejjtst the, c0verS.at tfaeBjfil
of Mount Olympus, although nearly exterminated in the
swamps of Akarnania5^j!s|ot known*fc Cyprus;or Rhodes,»
occurs on the island of Thasos near Salonika, and in siiifciblcl
localities throughout Roumelia, as- well as in Albania
north of the line of the Balkan# ;it is probably not indigenous.
Assuming ,.>i|j to have heen^ introduced affp|hne
unknown period it is /now found in-a feral state in-nearly
every country in Europe. It occurs* Ifp South Russia; in
Transylvania, although now nearly^e^termihated-,'' it was
formerly abundant,; and. in Bohemia and -parts ora
Saxony it wanders uncared for; hut north of .Central
Germany it requires^ and1 receives, a 'certain amount *
protection» Un(d.er; such ’conditions it exists.*.in Holland,
Belgium, Denmark, Sweden (where it has been introduced
by Mr. Oscar Dickson), and even near Christiania, in Norway.
In France* and Italy it also maintains itself under similar
protection ; but it is said to exist in a perfectly wild state on
the hills of Aleria, in 'Gorsicaf ; Spain and Portugal1 being
apparently the only European countries where attempts' at
acclimatization have not proved successful. Some- of these
more recent introductions on thé' Continent may have consisted
of fertile crosses with the Chinese Ring-,necked
Pheasant’ ; but as regards the' greater paiH of Europe^ and
the British Islands,1 there can’be no'doubt'that the-original
species was Pï êS'Whveu^. '
Before going further, it may-be as well do* consider briefly
th e r a n g e -of-our'Pheasant, and the other members of the
same • group. It has been shewn that P<-e,o%6Wtms, One of
t h e "species without the white collar, inhabits wét marshy
forests as far;veast 'as Astrabad, beyond which it now meets
with the barrier of the dëserf of Mariana. -’East-; of 'the
great Tian Shah-raiSgi, on -the plains and in the 'jungles
of Eastern TurkbStanp- eSpegialy^M- the- heighbourhood^of
Kashgar, and Yarkand, is' found another collariess species,
P. gfem^which even when taken young‘i'S<'im'e-r of; the móst
untamable of -birds in captivity.]: Mr. D. Ellibi
(Monogr. Phasianidse, ócï.<)^JC0'n©ide‘PS' that this- is^the origin
a l stock of tbe: group, and j t tg j may he united a doubtfully
distinct and at ' all- event s? closely allied' species
described from two headless specimens, under dhe name
of P. insignis,*.®Iso found in ' Yarkand. These' forms
lead to Pi%rÈO'dgbÊGvka well-marked species with a broad
white collar, an amethystine throat, and a greenish rum-p,
which- is -found near Bokhara, on /the- Syr-Daria ;(tbe
ancient Jaxartes')., and thence, past Lake Bal-kash,'throughout
that portion.5 of" Mongolia which lies^tó the north of-Gdbi.
On the Amu-Daria i|fhe.'an‘cient OXUs)/iS found a remarkably
* The hone-beefs of Sknson.-in Gascony-have yfefded remains which, havelbeen
referred ttytygysgecies qf Pbasianus. ,
t H. H. :
t Scully, * Stray Heathers,■’ 9*5