pheasant, fesant, fesaun, fesaunt

[Formed with excrescentt (as in tyrant, ancient, .), from Mid. fesaun, from O. Fr. phaisan (Fr. faisan ), from Lat. phasiana ( avis ) the Phasian (bird), from Phasianus ( a .) of or pertaining to Phasis, a river in Colchis, (s.) a pheasant, from Gr. Phasianos (a.) of or pertaining to the river Phasis, (8.) a pheasant; Spanish faisan , fays an; Italian fagiano . The birds were said to occur in great numbers near the mouth of the Phasis, now the Pioni.] Ornith.: Phasianus colchicus , and, more widely, any bird of the sub-family Phasianine. The Common European Pheasant probably had its original home in the East. Martial (xiii. 72) says that it was brought from Colchis in the Argo. It was esteemed by epicures, but was then only within reach of the wealthy ( Mart . xiii. 45). It is one of the most IMG:content-0979.png:[blocks in formation] The salts crystallize well, and have the general formula C6H3O6R3. phèn-a-kis-to-scope, s. [Gr. phenakismos =de highly prized game birds. The adult male pheas- It crystallizes in small prisms or needles, slightly ant is a beautiful bird, about three feet long. Head soluble in water, but soluble in alcohol and ether. and neck deep steel-blue, shot with greenish-purple The crystals effloresce on exposure to air, volatilize and brown; eye surrounded by a patch of scarlet at 130, and sublime at 170° in the form of prisms. skin, speckled with blue-black; ear-coverts brown; back a light golden-red, the feathers of the upper part tipped with velvet-black, of the lower part marked with brown. Quill feathers brown, of various shades; tail feathers oaken-brown, barred with ceit: illusion, and skopeō to see.] An instrument a darker shade and with black. Breast and front depending, like the thaumatrope and zoetrope (q. of the abdomen golden-red with purple reflections, v.) upon the persistence of visual impre ions on feathers edged with black; rest of abdomen and ons; the retina. under tail-coverts blackish-brown. The female has yellowish-brown plumage, and is about two feet in length. Other species are P. shaw i , P. in sign is, P. mongolicus , P. torquatus , P. for mos an us , P. decol lat us , P. versicolor , P. elegans , P. wallichi , P. reeves i, and P. sæmmeringi , known respectively as Shaws, the Yark and, the Mongolian, the Ring necked, the For mos an, the Ringle Chinese, the Japanese, the Green-backed Golden, Wallich's, Reeves', and Semmering's Pheasant. Thaumalea picta is the Golden and T. amhersticæ Lady Amherst's Pheasant. The Silver Pheasant is Euplo comus nycthemerus. ( Elliot .) pheasant-shell, s. [PHASIANELLA.] pheasant-tailed Jacana, s. Ornith.: Hydrophasianus chirugus (Scop.), Parra sinenesis (Gmel.); a handsome bird, confined to southeastern Asia. Top of head, face, throat, and neck white; back of neck pale yellow; upper plumage, shining dark olive-brown, with purple reflecJolysorbeneath for deep brownish-black. It lays, in green. ( Jerdon.)