mounted examples of most of them being displayed in the room : The Partridges, Quails, and Francolins of the Old World. The Partridges and Quails of America, of similar size, but different The Snow Partridges and Desert Partridges of Central Asia, The Peacocks of India, Burmah, and Java, and Peacock Pheasant The Guinea Fowls of Africa and Madagascar. The Pheasants, Game Fowl, &c., of Asia. The Turkeys of North America. The Curassows and Guans of South and Central America. With these, Mr. Sharp, of the British Museum includes the Sand Grouse, found in Europe, Asia, and Africa, a distribution equal to that of the Partridges, Quails, and Francolins, but with a more limited and uniform set of birds. COMMON PHEASANT, Phasianus colchicus. The most important and the most numerous group of the whole order of Rasores is that containing the Pheasants and Game Fowls, and from which latter the whole order is now collectively named the Gallina. Of the Game Fowls, notwithstanding that from one of them all our domestic poultry are descended, I shall have on the present occasion nothing further to say, nor shall I dwell on Fireback, Silver, and other aberrant forms of Pheasants, but confine myself to two of the typical Pheasants which agree in form, though differing in coloration, from the Common Pheasant, and to two others, among the loveliest of all, namely, the Golden Pheasant and the Amherst Pheasant. The native range of these and of all the Phasianidæ proper is in the Palearctic region of Asia; unless, indeed, as suggested by Professor Alfred Newton, of our own University of Cambridge, the Common Pheasant may have been of European origin, for fossil bird bones regarded by A. Milne Edwards as those of three kinds of Pheasants have been discovered in France and Greece. It has been shown by Professor Boyd Dawkins that the Common Pheasant has been naturalized in England for at least 800 years, as proved by a manuscript in the British Museum, edited by Professor Stubbs, and published in 1861. This contains a bill of fare drawn up by Harold for the Canon's households at Waltham, in which the Pheasant is expressly mentioned. It had thus become naturalized before the Norman invasion, and as the English and Danes were not the introducers of strange animals in any well authenticated case, it offers fair presumptive evidence that it was introduced by the Roman conquerors, who naturalized the Fallow Deer in Britain. Although not equalling some of the more recent introductions in size or gorgeousness of plumage, it is by many sportsmen preferred in consequence of its rapid flight and active habits. It is, however, only in the remoter districts of the country that it is now to be found in a state of purity, as the introduction of the Chinese and Japanese species has given rise to so many cross-bred varieties that in many places a purely bred specimen of colchicus is a rarity. Several well-marked and perfectly permanent varieties of this species are not uncommon. One of the best known is the so-called Bohemian Pheasant, in which the entire plumage is much less glossy, the general ground colour being of a creamy tint. It is, as it were, accidentally produced from the common form in different localities, and the variation, like many others, is hereditary, and may therefore be propagated by careful selection of brood stock. It is, A pure white variety of the common Pheasant occasionally occurs in the coverts without any apparent cause. however, deficient in hardihood. There are also Pied Pheasants, and Ringnecks, derived more or less from P. torquatus. CHINESE PHEASANT, Phasianus torquatus, Gmelin. Consul Swinhoe, Mr. Dudley E. Saurin, Père David, and other naturalists who have recently investigated the Natural History of the Chinese Empire, unite in confirming the belief that this Pheasant is the most common species in China, abounding in vast numbers in the hill coverts and cotton fields. Mr. Saurin says it is found everywhere in the North of China. Since the devastation of the country by the Taipings, they are shot by hundreds. Thousands are brought down to the Pekin market in a frozen state by the Mongols from as far north as the Amoor. This species was introduced into England long before the time of Latham, who says it was turned out on many estates. They are hardy, lay early and abundantly, but are smaller than the common kinds. JAPANESE PHEASANT, Phasianus versicolor, Vieillot. In May, 1846, the late Earl of Derby was in negociation with M. Westerman, the Director of the Zoological Gardens, at Amsterdam, for a pair of the Japanese Green Pheasants, P. versicolor. At the end of the month the birds were shipped for London, but the female died on the voyage. The male bird was received at Knowsley on the 30th of May, together with the dead body of the female, and an egg stated to have been laid during the passage. In return, Lord Derby sent to Amsterdam a living adult male African Ostrich, in acknowledgement of the great value of his acquisition. "This male bird, as if to prove the hardiness of the species, lived in his lordship's Aviary until its dispersion in 1851, and became the property of Prince Demidoff, with several young birds. These by care and perseverance had been so judiciously bred as to have all but lost the strain of the common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) with which the old male had been paired. The cock birds, in point of fact, so closely resembled the original bird, that it was impossible to distinguish their plumage from skins of the true P. versicolor received from Japan. "A pair of these birds were left by Prince Demidoff in the hands of the late Mr. John Thompson, Superintendent of the Menagerie and Aviary at Knowsley, and subsequently Superintendent of the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, and from them both eggs and young birds were distributed to various amateurs and members of that Society. It is believed, however, that the late Duke of Leeds, and M. Jacques Vekemans, the talented and energetic Director of the Zoological Gardens at Antwerp, have alone been successful in perpetuating this approximately pure breed. "The difficulty which has arisen in respect to the continued reproduction of these birds is obviously the want of new blood, for experiments have already demonstrated that they are perfectly capable of enduring the vicissitudes of our climate, that they are as prolific as their congeners, and that when crossed with the ordinary Pheasant of our coverts, they effect the most sensible improvement in the weight and beauty of the produce. "After the purchase of the old male by Prince Demidoff, Mr. J. H. Gurney, M.P., secured nine half-bred birds, which had been hatched in 1850 and 1851, and placed them on his estates at Easton, in Norfolk. From these and the common Pheasants at Easton and its neighbourhood, emanated some extremely fine hybrid birds, which extended themselves considerably in the county. It is probable that a similar race may have become established at Stubton, in Lincolnshire, where a pair of half-bred birds were turned out by the late Sir Robert Heron. The same experiment was tried in Knowsley Park, but from some adverse circumstances, probably in the character of the soil, they did not thrive in anything like the degree which so remarkably characterized their removal to Norfolk." (Sclater.) The following full and exact genealogy, which has never been published except for the purposes of the Knowsley sale, was drawn up by myself as Assistant Superintendent. From this it will be seen that the interbreeding did not commence till 1849, and that the great success obtained occurred in three generations :— CATALOGUE of the Menagerie and Aviary at Knowsley, formed by the late Earl of Derby, K.G., President of the Zoological Society of London, which will be sold by auction, by Mr. J. C. Stevens, on the premises, on Monday, 6th October, 1851, and on many following days. Liverpool, Joshua Walmsley, 50, Lord Street. PHASIANIDE (Page 35). A 1 Japan Pheasant.* Phasianus versicolor, Vieillot. From Japan. Phasianus diardi, Temminck. Male. B 3 Hybrids between the above Phasianus versicolor and hens of Phasianus colchicus. One cock and two hens. Bred at Knowsley, 1849. *The above is the only living specimen in Europe. A hen of the same species, shipped with the cock, died in the English Channel. Two common hen Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) were put in her place, and the above table shows the result. In 1850, crosses were also obtained between these common hen Pheasants and a cock of B; which, when reared, were turned at large in the Park, as also were the parent birds. |