Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/398

 384 PHEASANT monauls, and meleagrince or turkeys. Of these, the first and most of the second have been de- scribed; the fifth will be found under TUB- KEY ; and only the third, fourth, and a part of the second will be noticed here. The family includes the handsomest of the rasorial birds, and is for the most part confined to Asia and its islands; the Guinea fowl, however, is Afri- can, and the turkeys are American ; the latter, with the common fowl and the peacock, have been completely domesticated, and are distrib- uted very generally over the globe. The head is rarely feathered all over, but more or less about the eyes and often a considerable part of the neck are bare, and furnished with crests, wattles, and combs of singular forms. In the phasianincs may be included the genera pha- sianus (Linn.), thaumalea (Wagl.), and argus (Temm.). In phasianus the bill is moderate, strong, vaulted and slightly arched at the tip, which overhangs the lower mandible ; the nos- trils in a lateral groove and partly closed by membrane ; the wings short and rounded, the fourth and fifth quills the longest ; tail length- Common Pheasant (Phasianus Colchicus). ened, wedge-shaped, with each feather atten- uated ; tarsi robust, covered in front with divided scales, and in the males armed with a strong spur; toes strong, united at the base by a membrane, the hind toe short and ele- vated, and the claws stout and slightly curved. The few species described are naturally inhab- itants of the mountainous regions of Asia, but some have been jiaturalized in temperate Eu- rope; they frequent thick jungles, the sexes keeping separate except in the breeding season, when they form families of a single male and several females, each with their special locality, from which all intruders are expelled. They are rapid runners, and fly rapidly and noisily for short distances ; the food consists of grains, seeds, bulbs, and insects, which they seek usually toward sunset ; they roost in trees in the cold season ; the eggs are 10 or 12, and are laid gen- erally on the ground, with very little if any nest. The common pheasant (P. Colchicus, Linn.) is about 3 ft. long, of which the tail is nearly half; the male is bright rufous above, the head and neck blue with green and golden reflec- tions, and variegated with black and white; the cheeks bare and red, the sides and lower parts purplish chestnut; tail with transverse black bands ; the female is smaller, brownish gray, varied with reddish and dusky. This bird is supposed to have been introduced from the banks of the Phasis, a river of ancient Colchis, on the E. coast of the Black sea, whence its scientific name ; it is generally dis- tributed over S. Europe, but in the northern parts requires protection by stringent game laws to prevent its extinction ; it could prob- ably be introduced with advantage into the temperate parts of America. Its habits are much like those of the common fowl ; it breeds in confinement, but is apt to neglect its eggs, which are therefore usually placed under a common hen ; it will breed with the com- mon and Guinea fowls, in the wild state with the ring-necked species, and, it is said, also with the black grouse. A breed called the ring-necked pheasant has a white ring around the neck, and is either a mere variety, or a hybrid with the P. torquatus (Gmel.) of China. Pheasant shooting is a famous pas- time in Europe, and great numbers are killed at battues; they are special favorites with poachers; the flesh is excellent. In confine- ment they are subject to an epidemic and often fatal disease, called the "gapes," caused by a nematoid strongyloid parasitic worm (scleros- tomum syngamus. Dies.), which produces in- flammatory swelling of the windpipe, and fre- quently suffocation ; the best remedy is fumi- gation with tobacco carried to stupefaction. There are other more beautiful species in Japan and northern Asia. The genus thaumalea dif- fers from the last in having the head furnished with a crest of long slender feathers, and a kind of tippet of lengthened feathers around the back of the neck. The golden pheasant (T. picta, Wagl.) is perhaps the most gaudy of the family, the brilliancy and variety of its plumage being beyond description ; it is well known in aviaries and collections ; the general color is golden yellow above, scarlet below, with yellow crest, green back, brown hood, and blue secondaries; it is about the size of the common pheasant, but the tail is longer ; as usual in the family, the female has a plain brownish plumage. It is a hardy bird, a native of China, kept in domestication, and highly prized for the table. In the genus argus the seventh and eighth quills of the wings are the longest, with the secondaries remarkably pro- longed ; the tail is long and compressed, with the two middle feathers much elongated ; the tarsi long and slender, without spurs ; head and neck covered only with scattered hairs. The ar- gus pheasant (A. giganteus, Temm.) is about the size of a common fowl, but the two middle tail feathers are 3 or 4 ft. long ; the under parts and lower neck are reddish brown spotted with yellow and black; the back ochrey yellow, with black and brown spots ; tail deep chest- nut with white spots surrounded by a black