Gennaeus wickhami, n. sp.
MALE :—The mantle, back, and the visible portions of the closed wings black, finely, but irregularly, vermiculated and speckled with pale buff; the feathers of the rump and the upper tail-coverts plain black, without vermiculations, but very broadly fringed with white.
FEMALE :—Not known.
VERNACULAR NAMES :—Yit, Burmese.
A male of this species was sent me by my friend Mr. P. F. Wickham, last year, from the Chin-Hills in Burma. He writes :—" The bird I send was shot at Minken, about ten miles south of Falam, and at an elevation of about 5000 feet; this I should say was the limit of height to which this Pheasant extends, and I have not seen them, or heard of them, in the higher thickly-wooded peaks where the Tragopans live. I have shot them generally in nullahs where the jungle is thick but with Chin clearings near at hand. I have seen them myself perch in trees when put up by dogs; but they are persistent runners, although when once put up, they fly a long way before settling again."
When describing the Chin-Hills Silver-Pheasant in the first part of this manual, I expressed an opinion that that species would prove to be the Silver-Pheasant of the whole of the Chin-Hills. This, however, is not the case. We now see that there is one species which inhabits the valley of the Chindwin river, and another the heights of the Chin-Hills. It will probably be many years before anything is known accurately about the distribution of the two species.
Wickham's Silver-Pheasant may be distinguished from all other Silver-Pheasants by the characters given above. It only remains to be added that the forehead, crown and crest, as well as the whole lower plumage, is glossy black. The hindneck is vermiculated like the mantle. The tail-feathers are black, the middle pair freckled with buffish white on both webs, the others on the outer web only.
Length of male about 24 ; wing 9 1/2 ; tail 11. The skin of the face is crimson.
The second species to be brought to notice is
