The CHINESE EARED PHEASANT (_Crossoptilon auritum_) has the throat and a
line that passes from thence to the ear of pure white; the somewhat lax
plumage on the head, the nape, upper breast, and back are black, and the
mantle-feathers light brownish grey; the rump is yellowish white, and the
under side pale greyish yellow; the quills and tail-feathers are yellowish
grey, with a dark border to the outer web; the streaming feathers on the
upper covers are greyish black. The hen is somewhat smaller than her mate,
and has the long feathers less developed.
We are without particulars as to the life and habits of this Pheasant.
Lamprey tells us he observed it in the markets of Pekin, and heard
that it is found on the mountains to the north of that town. M. Armand
David also met with it in July, 1863, in the northern valley of a high
mountain, fifteen leagues to the west of Pekin, and was told that it is
called Ho-ki, or Gho-ky, by the Chinese. When placed in an aviary these
birds soon become gentle and familiar. In their wild state they frequent
well-wooded spots on mountains; they perch readily, and carry their tails
after the fashion of the Domestic Fowl; their somewhat varied call also
much resembles the voice of that bird. The crops of three specimens killed
in July were filled with the leaves of _cytisus;_ and those examined in
winter contained nuts, kernels, leaves of mugwort, ferns, roots, orchids,
coleoptera, worms, and caterpillars. In a paper contributed to the
_Zoological Society's Proceedings_ for July, 1866, Mr. Saurin informs us
that the hen lays at the end of May; the eggs are larger than those of a
Common Fowl, and of a blueish tint. The Chinese rear these Pheasants on a
kind of millet-cake; they are also very fond of barley. In 1866 two males
of this species were presented to the London Zoological Gardens, and in
the same year two hens were purchased from the Jardin d'Acclimatisation of
Paris; since that time they have produced several broods, which have been
hatched by a Domestic Hen.