pheasant. the 'cheer' of the sportsmen of North eastern India, is another large species, found only at elevations above 4000 feel, and remark able because both sexes crow. It has a long dark brown crest, and the general color is yellowish brown, rufous and ashy, more or less barred with black. The Mongolian pheasant (Pliasianns .1iriuqolirus), the green-breasted pheasant (Phasianus rcrsieolorr)s and Summering's pheasant (Phasianits Fecmr111fugii1 are of 'lie eial interest because they have been introduced into various parts of the United States. In Oregon they are so abundant in many places as to be a nuisance.
Tour other genera are included in the Pha sianime. Of the genus Ithogines. known as pheasants, three species are alpine ldrds of the Himalayas and China. They are remark able for their hardiness. living close to the limits of perpetual snow, and for the large number (three to five) of spurs on the tarsus of the male. The genus Enplocomus (or Gennams) con tains 14 species, known as 'fire-back' (or .lacart ney), `kaleege.' and 'silver' pheasants. They are birds of very rich plumage. the lower back being fiery, metallic red ; the bare skin of the head is deep blue or red. They are natives of Southeastern Asia and range from Formosa to Sumatra. Some of the fire-backs have short, square tails in both sexes, while others have the broad. elongated tails. The Chinese silver pheasant (Genntrus nyethemerus) is a good ex ample of that group; the upper parts and tail are white, more or less finely mottled with black, while the under parts are bluish-black. They are forest-loving birds and not gregarious. The kaleege pheasants are generally dark-colored. with long pendent crests; the tail is usually bluish-black. The third genus contains only one species, the remarkable Bill wer's pheasant (Lobiophasis from Borneo. There are three pairs of peculiar outgrowths of nude skin on the head; the plumage is metallic of various hues; and the tail, which is made up of thirty rather stiff feathers, hare near the tip. is pure
white. In the female the tail contains only twenty-eight feathers. Allied to these is the Impeyan pheasant (Lophophorus /mpg/tins).
A very striking form, often seen in menageries and private is the Indo-Malay Argus pheasant (Argusia»us giganteus), which has not only a long and splendidly ocellated tail, but the secondaries of the wings are enormously de veloped; the way in which these ornamental feathers are displayed in the courting season appears in the illustration of this species on the Plate of PHEASANTS.
The species of Chrysolophus includes some very gorgeous birds. The type pietas) has the back metallic green, the under parts scarlet, the rump golden-yellow, the crest amber colored, and a ruff about the neck orange-red tipped with blue, while the Lady Amherst pheasant (Chrysolophus Antherstial has the breast metallic green and the belly white, the crest crimson with white tips, and the ruff white margined with deep green. Lady Amherst's pheasant also has an excessively long tail. Little is known about these pheasants except that they are very hardy birds, living in thick woods on the mountains at moderate heights. They are extremely jealous birds. and though both occur in China, they are not found in the same valleys nor on the same mountains, but keep entirely separate.
The peacock-pheasants comprise a large num ber of species found from India to China and on the Malayan islands, and are gorgeously colored, with many peacock-like 'eyes' on the tail-feathers of the males.
Several more or less related birds are called `pheasants' by colonists and sportsmen in various parts of the world. e.g. our ruffed grouse in the Southern United States.
Consult: Evans. Birds (London. 11)03) ; Stej neger, Standard Yatural History. vol. iv. (Boston, 1885) ; Elliot, Monograph of the Phasianidtc (colored plates. London, : Tegetmeier, Pheasants: Their Natural History and Practical Management (ib., 2(1 ed., 1881).