The golden, or painted pheasants, (Phasianus pictus,) now so well known even at home, are decked in elegant plumage: it can, however, be no compliment to their harmonious blending of colours, to call them painted, although the epithet may be considered very applicable to their general gaudy appearance. Their brilliant tints excite more admiration in vulgar minds than the delicate pencilling of the silver pheasant, or the less gaudy but more elegant tinting of plumage in the Reeves’s, or the ring-neck pheasants. The painted pheasant is called Kum, kai,[22] or Kin, kai, by the Chinese: the eggs of the bird are described as being white, with brown spots. These beautiful birds are brought from the districts of Che, Kien, and Keang, nan.
The male of this bird, when courting the female, or bullying the males, conceals the purple feathers of the wings with the golden feathers of the back, at the same time bringing those feathers, seen like a hood upon the back of the neck, forward, and concealing the bill; thus, on whatever side the object of attack or courtship may be, the hood is so brought as to hide all but the sharp, bright eye. The attitudes of this, as well as of others of the pheasant tribe, are invariably graceful, whether upon the ground, or perched upon the branches of a tree.
The silver, or pencilled pheasants, the Pah, haan of the Chinese, were in fine plumage; and among many other attractions in the collection, was the Wow, wow, or blue pigeon, of New South Wales, which has bred in the aviary. The present, full-grown and fine specimens of that bird, Mr. Beale told me, were the young of a pair originally brought from Australia. They were born and reared in the aviary, and the parents died a short time since. There were also several of the stabbed-breast pigeons, (Columba cruenta,) from Manilla, whose breasts exhibited the exact appearance of having received a wound; the feathers, for a short distance, seeming to be smeared with the blood which flowed from it. What could have caused this very extraordinary and exact resemblance?
Widow Birds are peculiar objects of attraction; they are of a diminutive size, and their flight and hopping motion, when jumping or flitting from branch to branch, reminded one of the unsettled disposition of widows in most countries. So rapid were their evolutions, that at times it was difficult for the eye to follow them. They had certainly a beautiful appearance, arrayed in their dark plumage, with a tinge of yellow over the male. The male of the widow-bird is like the female for four months of the year, about the spring season.
There is a species of Tringa, or Turnstone, which was lately brought by Captain Duran, who presented it to Mr. Beale: it was caught alive three hundred miles from the nearest land, in lat. 15° north, and 169° east longitude.
Another beautiful bird, which merits some notice, is that elegant creature, the Tragopan satyrus, or horned Tragopan: it is the Tû, Xoû, Nieu, of the Chinese, and may receive an appropriate English name in the Medallion Pheasant, from a beautiful membrane of resplendent colours, (more or less brilliant, according to the excitement the bird may be in at the time,) which is displayed or contracted at the will of the animal; at which time its purple horns are also elevated: this appearance is usually observed during the months of January to March, when courting the female. In the contracted state it has merely the appearance of a purple skin under the lower mandible, and sometimes there is not the slightest indication of the existence of any membrane in that situation. The colours are most brilliant, being principally purple, with bright red and green spots; they are vivid and dazzling, varying, as in the wattle of the turkey-cock, according to the greater or lesser degree of passion exhibited by the bird. It is supposed, and no doubt correctly, that it is only to be found in the male specimens of this bird, for a female has not yet been seen. This beautiful appendage is never perceived to descend, excepting during the spring months or pairing season of the year. The birds in Mr. Beale’s aviary were procured from the Yun-nan province, bordering upon the country of Thibet: he has not, however, succeeded in his endeavours to obtain females of this elegant bird. I have coloured drawings of this bird in my possession, correctly executed by a Chinese artist.[23]
The Mandarin Teal, or Een-yêong of the Chinese, is also much and justly admired. The plumage of the drake is remarkably elegant, that of the female plain and undecorated. The male bird, however, during four months of the year, that is, from May to August, changes its beautiful plumage, and bears a close resemblance, at that time, to the female. This change is not confined solely to the tints of the feathers, but extends even to the epidermis of the mandibles. This bird, unlike the tribe, generally roosts in elevated situations, upon trees, high rocks, or over the windows of the aviary. These little creatures are regarded by the Chinese as emblems of conjugal fidelity, and are usually carried about in their marriage processions.
The following curious instance of fidelity was mentioned to me, as having occurred in the instance of two birds of this species:—A drake was stolen one night, with some other birds, from Mr. Beale’s aviary; the beautiful male was alone taken; the poor duck, in spite of her quacks during the distressing scene, was left behind. The morning following the loss of her husband the female was seen in a most disconsolate condition; brooding in secret sorrow, she remained in a retired part of the aviary, pondering over the severe loss she had just sustained.
Whilst she was thus delivering her soul to grief, a gay, prim drake, who had not long before lost his dear duck, which had been accidentally killed, trimmed his beautiful feathers, and, appearing quite handsome, pitying the forlorn condition of the bereaved, waddled towards her; and, after devoting much of his time and all his attention to the unfortunate female, he offered her his protection, and made a thousand promises to treat her with more kindness and attention than her dear, dear, lost drake; she, however, refused all his offers, having made, in audible quacks, a solemn vow to live and die a widow, if her mate did not return. From the day she met with her loss, she neglected her usual avocations; her plumage became ragged and dirty; she was regardless of her appearance; forsook her food, and usual scenes of delight, where she loved to roam with him, now absent, and to excite his brave spirit to drive away all the rivals that might attempt even to approach them. But those fleeting hours of enjoyment had passed, perhaps never to return; and no consolation that could be offered by any of her tribe had the least effect. Every endeavour was made to recover the lost bird, as it was not expected that the beautiful creature would be killed.