ollect, rather bluish in tint. The Chinese, who bring

Fowl, and, so far as I rec nese, .
also very fond of barley, which is grown in

than those of a common .
ind of millet-cake 5 they are

these birds in, feed them with a k
abundance in the mountain-valleys.”

We learn from Dr. Lamprey’s notes on th
of the four kinds of Pheasants he has seen in the m
large numbers from remote pl
d of Pheasant,” says the Doctor, “is exceedingly delicate, and the body
(Proc. Zool. Soc., 1862, p. 221.)

I had a female, that had been killed by a male in the
eighed over five pounds. The pectoral muscles were

e gallinaceous birds observed by him in China, that this is one
=) :
arkets of Tien-T'sin, the uninterrupted cold of winter

i ; an ‘ht in aces, and preserving them fit for use until
allowing of their being brought i

the spring. ‘‘ The meat of this kin :
is nearly as bulky as that of a small-sized Turkey.
To test the quality of the flesh of the Crossoptilon,
Zoological Gardens, cooked in the ordinary way. It we | |
white, like those of the Common Pheasant, and equal in flavour ; but the legs and thighs, which were very
large in comparison with the size of the

Mr. Bartlett states that these birds breed when 0
oult, that the sexes are exactly similar, and that they are remarkably hardy and ex-

bird, were coarse, brown, and less palatable.
nly one year old, that the young birds assume the adult

plumage at the first m

tremely tame. (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1868, p. 115.) :
Mons. Armand David, the French Missionary at Pekin, to whom the authorities of the Museum of Natural

History at Paris are indebted for the specimens of Crossoptilon auritum in their collection, ‘‘ met with these
rare birds for the first time in July 1863, in the northern valley of a high mountain, about fifteen leagues to
the west of Pekin. The female only differs from the male in being slightly smaller in size, and in having
the spurs but little developed ; and the nuptial plumage and that of winter are identical. Captured and
placed in an aviary, these birds become gentle and familiar ; their voice is varied, but closely resembles that
of the domestic Fowl. The Chinese know the bird by the name of Ho-ki or Gho-hy. It dwells in small

“numbers in the most wooded places of the mountains. Three specimens killed in July had their crops filled

with the leaves of Cytisus; while those procured in winter contained nuts, various kernels, leaves of
mugwort, ferns, and, above all, roots of orchids and other succulent plants, coleoptera, worms, and cater-
pillars. When I killed the three adults above mentioned, there were four other old ones and fifteen
young, all feeding together in a neighbouring field. Were they two families united ? They perch readily,
and carry their tails elevated, like the common Fowl.” (Nouv. Archiv. du Mus. d’Hist. Nat., Bull.,
tom. i. p. 13.)

The male has the short, velvety, and partially curled feathers clothing the head deep glossy black ; sides of
the head devoid of feathers, and of a deep blood-red, below which is a conspicuous lengthened tuft of silvery
white feathers directed backwards and upwards ; chin and throat silvery white, tinged with grey; neck and
the anterior portion of both the upper and under surfaces of the body deep, glossy, purplish black, gradually
becoming paler on the latter, until it fades into leaden grey on the vent and thighs, and into a lighter grey
on the under tail-coverts ; on the former, or upper surface, the purplish black becomes of a hair-brown on
the upper part of the back and wings ; lower part of the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts hoary grey ;
all the tail-feathers grey at the base and purplish blue on their apical portion ; irides light orange ; bill
fleshy ; feet sealing-wax red; nails horny.

Total length 33 inches, bill 12, wing 124, (rama e/aeeecentesiel

r © i
The figure is about two-thirds of the natural size.