The plach pheasant, known by the local names Pukras, Coclass (Pucrasia macrolopha), is less plentiful, and does not appear to be so generally distributed as the monal.
The cheer pheasant (Phasianus Wallichii) is one of the most elegant in the Himalaya. It is likewise known by the local names of Buinchil and Herrel. The male measures about 18 inches, exclusive of the tail, which varies from 20 to 26 inches in length. The naked skin around the eye is bright red. The iris is light brown. The tail is composed of eighteen feathers, which graduate in pairs, and are broadly barred with pale yellow or dusky brown and olive blotches. The cheer frequents the lower and middle regions, and is seldom found at very high elevations. It delights in grassy situations, among stunted oak or such like, and is generally met with in flocks of from six to twenty. The moment they are disturbed they separate, and secrete themselves among the grass or in the foliage of trees, whence it is said they have been knocked down with sticks.
The white-crested kalij (Gallophasus albocris tatus) is the most common and widely distributed of the Himalayan pheasants. There is a congener, with white markings on the crest and back, found on the eastern ranges, Sikkim, etc. Mr. Blyth considered it a distinct species, and named it G. melanotus. But Adams has seen many old males of the G. albocristatus with very little white on the crown and back. This kalij pheasant (Mur ghee kookera of the natives) is plentiful along the great valleys, called Doons, bordering on the plains of India, up to elevations of from 6000 to 8000 feet. It prefers, however, the more southern ranges, and is seldom met with in the remote interior. The egg is white, and about the size of the bantam's. A nest may contain from nine to twelve and even more eggs, which are hatched about the end of May. Grubs, insects, seeds, shoots and leaves of trees, constitute the favourite food of the kalij.
The red-legged partridge, better known in the cast by the name of chukor (Caccabis chukor, Gray), has a wide distribution. It does not differ in any well-marked particular from the Greek partridge of south-east Europe, and shows how easily species can be made. Of Perdix GrEeca there is a variety in the island of Crete. Lieut.
Wood in his journey mentions taking part in a hunting expedition, when the party bagged 500 chukor, by running them down with beaters and dogs. The chukor prefers barren mountains to the rich and luxuriant vegetation of the more southern ranges ; bare stony ridges clad with low scrub are its favourite haunts. During incubation the male remains near the nest, and may be heard all day piping his loud call, Cuc-cuc, resembling that of the domestic fowl. The Kashmirians call the bird Kau-kau, from its call.
The lineated kalij of Arakan and Burma is Gallophasus lineatus ; the purple kalij is G. Horsfieldii, the white-crested kalij is G. albo cristatus, and the black-beaded is G. melanotus. The Japanese pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) and Scemmerring's pheasant (P. Scemmerringii) are beautiful birds, close allies of the common phea sant (P. colchicus). They inhabit Japan, where they are the only representatives of the genus. Males of the Japanese pheasant were introduced into Europe some years ago, and hybridized freely with females of the ordinary bird, until the ultimate produce could scarcely be distin guished from the pure-bred P. versicolor.
The bar-tailed Reeve's pheasant (P. Reevesii) is remarkable for the excessive elongation of the two central tail-feathers, which in some specimens reach a length of five feet six inches. It is, besides, conspicuous for its beautifully variegated plumage. Its native country is Central China, to the north of the river Yang - tze - kiang. Amherst pheasant (Thaumalea Amberstim) of N. China is a strict congener of the gold pheasant (T. pieta) of Central China, but is even more showy and magnificent in plumage. It has been obtained by collectors in Yunnan and Western Sze-chuen in considerable numbers.
Temminck tragopan (Ceriornis Temininckii) is found in China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim, being replaced on the slopes of the N.W. Himalayas by the black-headed tragopan (C. melanocephala, Gray). Temminck's tragopan is a representative of this splendid group of pheasants in Central and Western China; and Blyth's tragopan, the most recent addition to the genus, is from Upper A ssam.—Adasts.