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P H EASAN T S

'^'A T.

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FR/^MK/ropNEND BARTON

M,R.c.v;s.

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FORTHE PEOPLE

FOR EDVCATION

FOR SCIENCE

LIBRARY

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM

NATURAL HISTORY

Pheasants : In
Covert and Aviary

STANDARD WORKS

By FRANK TOWNEND BARTON

TERRIERS: THEIR POINTS AND MANAGE-
MENT. With 40 Illustrations, Crown Svo, Cloth.
5s. net.

Staniiard.—*' A thoroughly practical treatise, that tells all that
need be known by the owner of terriers, whether he keeps them for
companionship, sport, or show. All the leading kinds of terriers are
portrayed, and the illustrations are lavj.sh."

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terriers."

POMES. AND ALL ABOUT THEM. With 28

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deserves, a ready acceptance."

PHEASANTS: IN COVERT AND AVIARY.

With 4 Coloured Plates from Life by H. Gronvoi.D,
and 37 other Illustrations. Crown 4to. 10s. 6d. net.

HOUNDS. With 40 Illustrations. Crown Svo.
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JOHN LONG, LIMITED, LONDON

SILVKR PHEASANTS (Malk and Female)
( Eiiplpcaimis Aycthcmenis)

\Fronthpiece

PHEASANTS

In Covert and Aviary

Frank Townend Barton, m.r.c.v.s.

Author of

"Terriers: Their Points and Management," "Ponies, and All About Them,"

" Hounds," *' Gun Dogs *'

WITH FOUR COLOURED PLATES FROM LIFE BY H. GRONVOLD,
AND THIRTY-SEVEN OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON
JOHN LONG, LIMITED

NORRIS STREET, HAYMARKET
MCMXII

The Right Hon.
THE EARL OF KINNOUL, D.L., J.P.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. Pheasant Coverts and their Construction . . 13

II. The Common Pheasant {Phasianus Colchicus) . . 22

III. The Mongolian Pheasant {Phasianus Mongolicus) . 37

IV. The Prince of Wales Pheasant {Phasianus Principalis) 40
V. The Chinese Pheasant {Phasianus Torquatis) . 43

VI. Shaw's Pheasant {Phasianus Shawii) . . .47

VII. Reeves', or the Bar-tailed Pheasant {Phasianus Reevesii) 49

VIII. Scemmerring's Pheasant {Phasianus Scemmerringii) . 55

IX. The Japanese Pheasant {Phasianus Versicolor) . . 60

X. Hagenbeck's Pheasant {Phasianus Hagenbecki) . . 66

XI. Hybrids and Hybridisation . . . .68

Mongolian Hybrids — The Ring-necked Hybrids — Prince
of Wales Hybrid — Albino and Pied Pheasant Hybrids.

XII. FoRMOSAN Ring-necked Pheasant {Phasianus Formosanus) 78
Stone's Pheasant {Phasianus Elegans) — The Chinese
Ringless Pheasant {Phasianus Decollatus).

XIII. The Barred-backed Pheasant . . . .80

Elliot's Pheasant {Phasianus Ellioti) — Hume's Pheasant
{Calophasis Humice).

XIV. The Golden Pheasant {Thaumalea Pictd) . . 82
XV. The Amherst Pheasant {Thaumalea Amherstia) . . 90

XVI. The Silver Pheasant {Euplocamus Nycthemerus) . 94

XVII. The Argus Pheasant {Argus Giganteus) . . .98

{Argus Grayi).

XVIII. The Eared Pheasant ..... 108

XIX. The Blood Pheasants {Ithagenes Cruentus) . .110

The Northern Blood Pheasants {Ithagenes Sinensis).

XX. The Assumption of Male Plumage by Female Pheasants 113

XXI. Pheasantry Eggs versus Wild Ones . . .116

XXII. The Management of Pheasants in Aviaries . .129

XXIII. Artificial Incubation ..... 136

XXIV. The Selection of Broody Hens . . .150

XXV. The Feeding and Management of Pheasant Chicks 158
Analysis of Foods most suitable for Feeding Pheasant
Chicks.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PACK

XXVI. Removing the Young Pheasants to Covert. . 182

XXVII. Enemies of the Game-rearer, and how to deal

WITH them . . . . .187

The Magpie — The Jay — Hawks — Hooded Crows
— The Carrion Crow — The Rook — The
Jackdaw — Egg-eating Pheasants, and how to
Cure them.

XXVIII. Enemies of the Game-rearer, and how to deal

with them [continued) .... 206

The Fox (Vulpes Vulgaris) — Badgers — Cats and
Dogs — Stoats, Weasels and Pole-Cats — Com-
mon Hedgehog.

XXIX. Feeding Adult Birds in Covert . . 215

Analysis of Foods — Best Kinds of Food.

XXX. Pheasant-farming ..... 225

XXXI. High Pheasants — How to Show on Flat or Diffi-
cult Ground — Some Opinions of Gamekeepers . 234

XXXII. The Disinfection and Cleansing of the Aviary,

Coops, and other Appliances of the Pheasantrv 245
Sulphurous Acid Gas — Chlorine Gas.

XXXIII. Specific Diseases . . . . .251

Roup — Tuberculosis.

XXXIV. Parasitic Affections of the Respiratory Tract . 254

Syngamosis, Verminous Bronchitis, or Gapes, and
their Treatment.

XXXV. Mycosis of the Respiratory Tract . . . 260

XXXVI. The Digestive Organs and Ailments in connection

therewith . . . . . . 262

Diseases of the Digestive Apparatus — Impaction
of the Crop — Infectious Enteric — Meabures to
be adopted when an Outbreak of Enteric is
Suspected — Liver Disease — Inflammation of
the Bowels — Worms.

XXXVII. Cramp ....... 273

XXXVIII. Disease affecting the Eyes .... 275
Ophthalmia.

XXXIX. Parasitic Affections in Connection with the Skin 277
Scaly-leg, Treatment of this Disease — Scabies of
the Body, Lice and other Pests.

XL. Vegetable and Mineral Poisons . . 281

Introductory — Yew Poisoning — Ivy Poisoning.

Index ....... 285

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Silver Pheasants (Male and Female)

Frontispiece

Keepers searching for Pheasant Nests in the Woods of the
North Yorkshire Hills

Black-necked Pheasant (Male)

Sitting Hen Pheasant ....

Pure Mongolian (Male) Pheasant

Prince of Wales Pheasant (Male and Female)

Assumption of Male Plumage by the Female Sex

Hen Pheasant with Nest amongst Heather

Hen Pheasant Sitting on Nest surrounded by Grass and
Nettles .....

Hen Pheasant in which the Maternal Duties were so
strongly developed that she regularly submitted to be

STROKED without LEAVING THE NeST .

Concealment of Sitting Hen Pheasant .

Clutch of Pheasant Eggs found amongst the

Feeding Trough ....

Patent Feeding Trough

Home-made Willow Trap for the Capture of
the Pens ....

Egg-testing Lamp ....

Sitting on Pheasant Eggs .

Portable Pheasant and Poultry House

Barn-door Fowls in Sitting boxes

Young Pheasants Feeding at the Coops

An Ideal Site for a Rearing-field, depicting
MENT of the Coops

Feeding Young Pheasants at the Edge of the Covert

38
42

114

118

120

124

. 126

Heather

. 128
• 131

131

Pheasants

FOF

132
139

144

•

151

•

154
160

the Arrange

164

Covert

168

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Pheasant Chicks Feeding around Coop .

Young Pheasants Feeding ....

Lifting Coops on Sack for Removal to Covert

Removing Sack from under Coop after being placed at
Covert Side ....

A Corn Stack by Covert Side

Opening a Coop after its Removal to Covert

Black's Patent Hawk Trap

An Enemy of the Game-preserver

Feeding Adult Pheasants in the Ride .

Wire Hurdle Movable Pens for Pheasant-breeding

Portable Wooden Hurdles for Pheasant Pens

High Movable Fencing ....

Pheasant Coop .....

Aviary for Pheasants ....

A Useful Companion on the Rearing-field

174
178

1S4
186
190
198
208
216
227
228
229
231

233
246

PREFACE

It will, I think, be admitted by all readers of this work,
that very little excuse need be offered for its introduction
to the public, or rather to those interested in matters
appertaining to Pheasants, either for the Covert or for the
Aviary, a title to which the present publication answers.
It is somewhat surprising to note the small amount of
literature that has appeared in volume form concerning
Pheasants and their general management. As far as the
writer is aware, there are only one or two manuals
published relating to a description of the Phasianidae and
their management, the most notable book being Elliot's
valuable Monograph on the Phasianidae, a work that now
approaches three figures to purchase it. Be this as it may,
the Author is confident in believing that the task he has
undertaken will find adequate reward by giving such infor-
mation as may be useful to those engaged in preservation
of Pheasants — in fact, to all sporting men interested in this
the Prince of Birds. In conclusion, the Author desires to
express his thanks to the proprietors of the Gamekeeper,
and also to Mr Lazenby for the use of photographs.

F. T. B.

PHEASANTS

CHAPTER I

Pheasant Coverts and their Construction

Wherever the preservation of Pheasants constitutes an
essential part of game-rearing, it is indispensable to provide
the birds with coverts best adapted to protect them against
not only their natural enemies, but above all, against that
lawless sportsman, the poacher, though many will, I have no
doubt, take exception and objection to the use of the title
" Sportsman " in connection with a man whose nocturnal
depredations are performed in every manner contrary to the
rules of sportsmanship, to say nothing as to his total disregard
for what may be termed the " Ethics of Sport." The single-
handed poacher is, as a rule, a less formidable foe to deal
with than a covey of poachers, the desperate actions of which
frequently lead to the most serious consequences. The
"prevention" of poaching is certainly better than its "cure"
by either fine or imprisonment, and had those engaged in
the planting of coverts during antecedent years only con-
sidered this matter, both lawlessness and night-watching
would have played very little part in connection with orame
preservation.

Existing coverts, as a rule, are rather favourable to the
poachers' operations, more especially when the leaves begin to

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

fall, and the nights are sufficiently light to render the birds
conspicuous objects on the branches of the trees. It is an
indisputable fact that branches radiating horizontally afford
the best foothold for Pheasants, consequently such are the
most likely to be used as roosting-places ; hence the reason
why the Larch - tree is so often used for this purpose.
Nevertheless, Larch-trees in a covert do more towards the
encouragement of poaching than any other British trees.
One of the prime factors in covert formation is density of
growth above and below, and this is the reason why many
young coverts of Scotch Firs will afford much better protec-
tion and safety than an old-established and extensive covert
formed principally of Larch-trees. Moreover, Pheasants,
during severe weather, like to seek the seclusion of sheltered
positions, which Is well afforded by such trees as the Scotch
Fir, the Silver Fir, the Spruce, the Yew, the Beech, all of
which, excepting the Beech, have persistent or green leaves
throughout the winter, whilst the dead leaves of the Beech
remain attached to the parent plant for a variable period
during the latter season, thus affording both protection and
shelter. This persistency of the withered leaves only exists up
to about fifteen years. The Beech hedge, likewise that of the
Yew and the Holly, constitutes one of the best natural pro-
tections it is possible to have around a covert, and birds are
not slow to take advantage of this fact, especially where there
is a dense undergrowth of other vegetation.

The oldest species of Beech indigenous to England,
which has also been introduced into Scotland and Ireland, is
the common Beech [Fag us Sylvatica). This is a tall tree,
with a smooth trunk and dense foliage, the latter throwing an
intense shade on the soil beneath, thus destroying all other
growth under its shade. When grown thickly together, the
Beeches develop long straight trunks, and a thick mass of

PHEASANT COVERTS

foliage above. In the formation of hedges, the Beech must
be close clipped. It is especially suitable for planting in
coverts where the soil is of a chalky nature, and this is the
reason why the Beech is one of the chief woodland trees of
the Chalk Hills on the South Coast of England.

The density of the coriaceous and persistent foliage of the
Holly i^Ilex Aquifolium), combined with the protective influ-
ence of its spines, renders it particularly suitable for planting
in and around coverts, and many also recommend the Yew
{Taxus Baccata), which, like the Holly, bears crimson berries,
though of slightly different hue. The toxicological properties
of the Yew are rather against its use about coverts, and no
explanation has been given why thrifty and well-fed Pheasants
should occasionally resort to the consumption of its foliage,
possibly with fatal results. Well-developed Yew-trees have
a closely arranged branch system with horizontal de-
viation of the branches, which, together with the close-
ness of the foliage, makes a very good shelter for the
birds, though as far as the establishment of a covert is
concerned. Yew-trees are never very likely to play a signi-
ficant part.

The value of planting three varieties of trees, namely.
Oaks, Beeches and Sycamores, in and around every covert,
can hardly be over-estimated, as each of these supplies food
— natural food, which all Pheasants will readily consume.
Acorns, beech-mast, and the achenes or seeds of the Syca-
more (after the succulent part has dried away) are valuable
food for Pheasants. Their economical advantages are at
once obvious, to say nothing as to the provision of such
natural aliment being one of the best preventives against
straying or wandering in search of food. In support of the
truth of this statement, it is advisable to refer to the letter
of a correspondent, which appeared in the Gamekeeper for

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

November 1909, under the title of " Acorns and Straying
Pheasants " : —

" There is no denying the fondness of Pheasants for acorns,
and those among us who wish to bear as large a head as
possible, and still keep the autumn food bill within certain
limits, are glad to see a plentiful crop. Other keepers
who are allowed to use what corn they like may not care
to see a big crop of acorns, because they state Pheasants
stray in search of them, and thus cause a good deal of
trouble.

" I have paid some little attention to this matter, and have
arrived at the conclusion that the birds do not really stray after
the acorns, but owing to the speedy way in which they are
able to fill their crop when such fare is abundant, have a lot of
spare time on hand to spend in getting into mischief. A
Pheasant on arriving on a tree, the ground beneath which is
thickly littered with acorns, can, in a few minutes, swallow as
many as will cram its crop and take half a day to digest,
while it would have to search for hours to secure enough of
other fare. Thus the birds are unemployed the greater
part of the time, and unemployed Pheasants have only one
recourse, and that is to wander. If the acorn supply could
be spread over a longer period, it would be far better, but
we have to face a glut and consequent straying.

" There would be less straying in the time of acorns, I feel
convinced, were keepers to observe two points, these being
to provide good supplies of grit and water. Acorns are hard
shelled and their mastication must be a great strain on the
gizzard, so more grit than usual is needed to enable that organ
to fulfil its functions, and if the necessary quantity is not to
be found at home. Pheasants feeding on acorns will resort to
where it is. Water is also needed in larger quantities than

PHEASANT COVERTS

usual because of the dry, heating nature of acorns, and few
coverts contain a too plentiful supply of water. If these two
necessaries are provided for the birds there will be far less
wandering, and for that reason I commend these re-
marks to all brother keepers who reside where the Oak
flourishes."

The only objection to the planting of Oaks for covert
purposes is their slow growth. The seeds of the Sycamore
are ready for consumption in the spring, and where these
trees are abundant, it is stated that eggs are obtained earlier
than in coverts without such. The leaves of the Oak and
the Beech decay very slowly when on the ground, and heaps
of such leaves are most favourable to the production of insect
life, in search of which Pheasants are not slow to take advan-
tage of, especially during hard weather. Pheasants are very
much more likely to stray during cold weather than warm,
especially if the snow on the ground is soft ; therefore, in feed-
ing the birds under such conditions, it is better to scatter the
food freely about, otherwise if they are able to fill their crops
at once they are liable to begin to wander.

In the formation of a covert, it is indispensable to attend
to what may be termed the "fundamental" principles of
its construction, which may be summarised as follows : —

(a) Select a sight in which the sun will shine the greater part of the day,

and if possible having a south or south-west aspect.

(b) Never plant a covert on a boundary, but in the centre of the manor,

with the smaller plantations surrounding the main one.

as a stream or a pond, as the absence of water favours the straying
of birds.

(d) Avoid the formation of coverts too large, a number of smaller ones

being preferable to a single large one.

(e) Plant a sufficiency of low-growing shrubs, such as the Barberry, the

B 17

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

Broom, Bramble, the Rhododendron as well as the Hazel, Laurel
and Privet, as Pheasants dehght in the dense cover afforded by
low-growing and traiUng perennials, besides most of the shrubs
last named, as well as the seeds of the Dog Rose. All afford
capital food for Pheasants. In some coverts the Gorse or
Whin is used, but this is not as useful as the Broom (Cysticus),
and the latter should always predominate.

Most game-keepers and others interested in the construc-
tion of a covert will, I think, agree with the author, that
the best of all trees to plant are : Spruce Firs, Silver Firs
and Scotch Firs. These ^should be planted moderately
close, which prevents excessive branch formation. For
Spruce Firs, a distance of 4 yards, but not more than
5 yards apart, is the most desirable. The seedlings of the
Silver Fir require protection against early frosts and also
against drought in summer.

Morris, in his work on British Game Birds and
Wild Fowl, has the following paragraph, concerning the
favourite resorts of the Pheasant, and which has a direct
bearing upon the formation of a covert. The author re-
ferred to says :

" The most favourite resort of the Pheasant is the thick,
brushy underwood, composed of small shrubs. Bramble
bushes, long coarse grass, and other wild plants, which is
often met with through the whole of small woods and
coppices, and in the outskirts of larger woods, or where
woods have been cut down, and the brushwood allowed to
grow as it would.

" In such situations as the above the Pheasant remains
quiet and concealed during the daytime, but at sunset and
sunrise it leaves this seclusion for the more open feeding
grodnd ; it is singular that on these occasions it never

PHEASANT COVERTS

walks, but, we believe, invariably runs from the cover to
the place where it is accustomed to feed. It habitually
frequents the same cover and feeding ground, leads to the
formation of narrow runs or paths which, to the practised
eye, tell with certainty the number and kind of game to be
expected. It is mentioned in Thomson's Naturat History of
Ireland, that in that country, Pheasants are frequently found
during the summer and autumn months in the potato fields.
During the autumn, winter and early spring months the
Pheasant perches in trees when it roosts, but from the
beginning of April till the middle or end of September,
its roosting-place is among the long and coarse grass and
sedge of its favourite cover. On withdrawing from the
trees as roosting-places in the spring, the hen bird is the first
to set the example ; but the cock Pheasant does not abandon
his tree for several weeks later. When, however, they have
taken to the ground, they do not again use the trees at
night, unless something has occurred to disturb them.
During the winter single individuals will frequently leave
the coverts and, if not molested, will remain for a consider-
able time at a distance from their natural haunt, and during
this period, they usually roost in hedges, or thick grass or
stubble, seldom resorting to trees as roosting-places. These
stragglers are the exceptions ; as a common rule. Pheasants
will be found in winter roosting in trees, and generally
somewhat in company — where one is found, others may be
expected at no great distance. The tree preferred by the
Pheasant for its nocturnal resting-place is the Larch Fir,
when attainable, and this probably arises from the peculiar
growth of the tree, in which the branches are nearly at
right angles to the trunk. Their preference for these
trees, which are denuded of their leaves in the winter,
gives additional facilities for the poacher in their destruction,

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

as -so large a bird is very readily seen on the almost naked
branches, and offers an easy mark to his gun."

The foregoing account is clearly illustrative of the fact
that it is, in virtue of the habits of the Pheasant, indispensable
to make provision in every covert for dense undergrowth,
and the more brushwood left lying about the better, as this
materially aids the growth of various climbing and twining
plants, such as the Honeysuckle, Bryony, Bindweed, etc.,
all of which are of contributory service.

Existing coverts can be improved by planting some
of the low growing shrubs previously alluded to, and if
decayed and fallen timber, along with the brushwood, is
allowed to accumulate, it materially adds to the low ground
cover, so much desired by Pheasants, but which, in and
around the hedges, is usually removed by hedge-trimmers.
There is a wonderful difference in existing coverts throughout
the British Isles, not only in their formation, but also as to
the different varieties of trees entering into the formation
of the coverts. Take, for instance, the counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk, in which the preservation of game has attained
a high level of excellence ; in fact, it would be a difficult
matter to find counties better attended to in this respect.
The bulk of the trees forming the coverts in the counties
alluded to, consist of some species of Firs or Pines, such as
the Scotch Pine [Pinus Sylvestris), the Spruce Fir [Abies
Excelsa), and the Silver Fir [Abies Pectinata). Amongst
the two-leaved pines, there are about twenty species to
which the Scotch Pine, Stone Pine, Mountain Pine, etc.,
belong, whereas, in the five-leaved forms, there are about
thirty-five species, included in which are the Silver Fir, the
Spruce Fir and the Larch.

Again, in Gloucestershire, some of the younger coverts

■S.

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^ 1

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o

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PHEASANT COVERTS

are mainly formed of Oaks, there being no hard and fast
rule as to the trees selected for this purpose, one of the main
deductions being to avoid planting Larches, which, though
liked by Pheasants for roosting in, prove disastrous in
localities where poaching exists in its chronic form.

Scotch Firs for covert planting, about five-year-old plants,
can be bought for thirty shillings a thousand, whilst Spruce
Firs, at the same age, usually cost about twenty shillings per
thousand ; the principal matter being to secure plants that
have been twice transplanted and grown on exposed ground.
The Spruce Fir is a fine timber producer, and as such, is in
great demand. Game-covert plants can usually be bought
for about thirty shillings per thousand, though, of course, they
vary according to the kind of plant and the size of the same.
The following is a list of plants suitable for coverts, and
from which a selection can be made : —

Broom

Holly

Hazel

Mountain Pine

Willow

Elder

Yew

Laurel

Guelder Rose

Barberry

Snowberry

Privet

Quick-Thorn

Rhododendron

Sea-Buckthorne

Wild Raspberry

Briar

Box

The best heights for these plants for transplanting ranges
from 2 to 4 feet on an average, though some may be
more, others less.

CHAPTER II

The Common Pheasant

The "original" type of common Pheasant [Phasianus
Colchicus) is generally regarded as having come from the
River Phasis, or Colchis, in Asia Minor ; hence the applica-
tion of the generic i^Phasianus) and specific {Colchicus) names
applied to these birds, though it is quite possible that the
species of Pheasant had a much wider distribution in Asia.

The word placed in italics at the commencement of this
chapter is used for the specific purpose of indicating or
emphasising the fact that a distinction must be drawn
between that of the generality of Pheasants met with in
the coverts, and the species of such as belong to the true
type of " Common Pheasant," often spoken of under the
more popular titles of "Black-necked" or "Old English"
Pheasants, in contradistinction to the " Ring-necked " either
as hybrids, or pure bred specimens of the Chinese Pheasants,
now so universally distributed in game preserves.

It would be incorrect to regard the Old English
Pheasants as even uncommon, as such birds are plentiful
in some localities, though scarce or unknown in others.

Concerning the scarcity of Black-necked Pheasants,
a leader among British Ornithologists, Lord Lilford
(Thomas Littleton Powys, fourth lord), in the Birds of
Northamptonshire and Neighbourhood, says :

"Although it is most difficult to find pure bred specimens
of the species P. Colchicus, on account of the frequent cross-

THE COMMON PHEASANT

ings with the Chinese Ring-nect:ed Pheasant {P. Torquatus)
and other species, we do occasionally meet it, especially
in the largre woodland of the Northern Division of
Northamptonshire, which by their small size, the absence
of any trace of the white collar, so conspicuous in the
Chinese bird, and the intense blackness of the plumage
of the lower belly, present the characteristics of the true
unadulterated species."

It may be accepted as an indisputable fact that what is
now called the common Pheasant is a mixed variety — a
manufactured article — consisting of a blend of Chinese,
Japanese and the Old English Pheasants, and in some
instances other varieties in addition.

The introduction of alien blood into that of P. Colchicus
has rendered the plumage more attractive, and increased
the size and weight of the birds, without interfering with
their prolificacy.

B. R. Morris, in his work on British Game Birds and
Wildfowl (1855), says:

" There is a variety of the Pheasant having a white
ring round the neck, which is not uncommon, and which
used to be considered a distinct species from the ordinary
one, but is now found to be only a variety, as it will feed
with the common Pheasant, and the presence of ring-
necked birds with young brood seems to be quite
accidental.

"In some districts, however, they prevail to a great
extent, and Mr Selby says that in his neighbourhood they
have nearly superseded the common kind."

From the foregoing account it would appear that the

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

introduction of the Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant or the
hybrid of P. Torquatus existed prior to 1855.
In continuing, the same author says :

" Pure white Pheasants and individuals pied with white
in every variety, are common enough, and some of the
latter exhibit great beauty of markings. The pure white
plumage is said to be assumed most frequently by the
female bird, and those which have come under our notice
have certainly borne out the remark."

Both pure white and pied Pheasants are occasionally met
with in both sexes, but as such can only be regarded as
variations of the common Pheasant, neither can the former
be relied upon to produce birds, either white or pied, though
some of the broods do, as a rule, develop the same plumage.
Experimental breeding amongst both animals and birds has
proved that it is extremely difficult to establish a race of pure
white animals or birds from coloured ancestors. There is
always a strong tendency towards a reversion of the "fixed "
type, from which the white or pied bird has been derived.

Many sub-species of the common Pheasant have been
alluded to by various writers, but as such are not of much
practical importance, it is not desirable to enter into a con-
sideration of the same. The male birds, until after the first
moult, are very similar to the females, which in this, as in
other species, are non-attractive in their plumage, whereas
the converse nearly always applies to the males, and few birds
of the Gallinaceous kind exhibit more attraction than the
male Pheasants. The average weight of an adult cock
Pheasant may be set down at 2\ to 3 lbs., some being
heavier, others lighter. The hens are smaller and lighter
in weight. The length of the male, as measured from

Wi^'

^t^'

■^

Q 5

ui ^

u 0,

w —

THE COMMON PHEASANT

the beak to the tip of the central tail feathers, is
about 36 inches, occasionally less, but not as a rule
more.

The extent of the wings is about 3 1 inches, and the girth
of each wing (measured midway) 8f inches. Girth around
the body about 14 inches, and that around the thighs, 4^
inches. Length of the back, 7 inches ; ditto of the neck,
6|- inches. The girth of the skull about 5 inches. The
length of the pair of central tail feathers ranges from 18
to 24 inches in a full-grown male bird. The bill is a light
horn colour, about i inch in length, strong-hooked, with
light-brown or flesh-coloured nasal membranes. The
papillar or cheek patches are either crimson or bright
scarlet according to the season, being of the colour last
named during the breeding season. The upper half of
the papillar patch has the form of an irregular crescent,
broadest in front, extending from the base of the bill to
a level of the ears. The lower papillar patch resembles
in shape the flap of a spaniel's ear, but is continuous with
the upper crescentic portion, with an islet of beetle-green
feathers below the eyelids, which latter are flesh coloured,
almost circular, but their margin, on close inspection, reveals
rudimentary eyelashes, or at any rate dark structures repre-
senting such. Each papillar patch is composed of a multitude
of conical papillae, regularly interspersed with minute black
tufts, arranged in lines.

The bright scarlet colour is due to the rich blood supply
of the papillae, which attain a maximum degree of perfection
after the first moult, in young and vigorous birds, during the
spring-time. The feathers on the top of the head, excepting
a small area above the nasal membranes, are bronze-green,
forming a tuft which surrounds the openings of the ears.
There is another tuft of fine dark-coloured feathers which,

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

when non-erect, completely hides the aural openings, though
the tuft is usually erect during the pairing season. The
bases of the feathers are in touch with an erector muscle
in front of the ears. The aural openings are large and
circular. The feathers clothing one-half, or a little more than
one-half of the neck, are beetle-green in colour, but under
different illuminations may appear electric blue, or other
allied shades. Viewed in strong sunlight, the colour is that
of intense emerald.

The feathers on the lower portion of the neck, when
seen singly, have their margins tipped with green, below
which is a reddish-orange, and still lower down the feather
is greyish-brown. The neck feathers are smallest above,
but at the base of the neck and junction of the breast, they
are about 2 inches in length and very abundant, being
densely crowded. On either side of the breast, partly under
cover of the wing, the feathers are tipped with the same
deep green or purple, but the major portion of each is
reddish-orange. The bulk of the breast feathers are of
a brownish-black colour, with dark-green margins ; the front
portion of the back exhibits a remarkable variety of colour-
ing. On the lower portion of the shaft of each feather,
there is a downy covering, the e.xposed portion being alone
attractive. In the outer zone, the colour is reddish-yellow,
slightly green at the tip. Inside the reddish-brown colour,
there is another zone of green, and within this again a buff-
colour, succeeded by a central zone of blackish-brown feather-
ing. The remaining feathers of the back are very abundant,
and each is about 3 inches in length. They are a deep
foxy colour, and reflect from their tips a bluish - green
coloration.

The lower portions of the breast and the thighs are heavily
clothed with feathers of a deep reddish-brown. The quills

THE COMMON PHEASANT

are dark grey, with transverse mottled cream-coloured mark-
ings, there being twenty-four quills in each wing, whereas the
secondaries are a mixture of brown, buff and grey, but when
viewed collectively in the wing, the yellowish-brown colora-
tion predominates.

The under surface of the wing is light grey, but yellow
or buff at its base of attachment.

The tail feathers are remarkable for their length, and
arranged in pairs. The two central ones are the longest,
there being eight on either side of the pair of centrals. The
margins of the tail feathers are tinted with green, and
reflect this colour from their upper surfaces, the under
surface being much darker. They are of a buff-brown
colour, with dark transverse markings, the latter being either
opposite or alternative arranged, but the markings vary in
their width, being broadest towards the tip of the feathers,
and opposite to each other. At the base of the tail, on the
upper surface, there are a number of smaller feathers,
similarly marked, which materially add to the beauty of the
caudal appendage.

The hen Pheasant, as stated elsewhere, is smaller than
the cock bird, and the tail shorter. The bulk of her plumage
is a greyish-yellow, marked with black or yellowish-brown,
but that growing on the top of the head, and lower part of
the neck, are tinged with red. Tail, yellowish-grey, with
black mottlings and spots, but the transverse bars, so striking
in the male, are absent, whilst the under portions of the
body are lighter.

The length of a hen Pheasant is about 2 feet, or a trifle
over. The spur on the shank or back of the tarsus is
absent in the hen. In both male and female, the first or
inner toe is the shortest, the third one being the longest, and
the fourth one a trifle longer than the second one.

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARV

Pheasants, like other birds, are liable to exhibit variations
in their plumage, but only as a rule slightly so, excepting in
the case of those well-marked deviations alluded to earlier
on in this chapter. It is mosdy in game preserves where
several different species have been introduced, that one is
most likely to come across the most marked difference in
plumage, as variability of type is only likely to be assumed,
where such a condition of affairs is, or has been, operative.

Distinctiveness of species can only be maintained where
due regard is paid to the introduction of the birds coming
from pure stock (known to exist in a state of purity),
although the latter does not necessarily imply that such birds
will provide any better Pheasants for powder and shot. In
fact, the hybrid birds, as stated earlier on, are in the greatest
demand for sporting purposes, and precisely the same remark
applies to the cross-bred Mongolian Pheasants — birds that
are highly esteemed by sportsmen.

R. Morris, in his British Game Birds and Wild Fowl,
gives the following description : —

"The adult cock Pheasant has the bill of alight horn-
colour; darker at the base. I rides, yellow hazel. The
eyes are surrounded by a naked papillose skin, of a very
bright scarlet colour, minutely dotted over with black
specks ; under each eye is a small patch of feathers of
a dark spotted glossy purple. Crown of head, bronze-
green, the feathers somewhat elongated ; on each side of
occiput is a tuft of dark golden-green feathers, erectable
at pleasure ; very conspicuous in the pairing season. The
rest of the head and the upper part of the neck, deep
purple, brown, green or blue, as seen in different lights ;
lower part of the neck and breast, reddish chestnut, each
feather with a black margin ; lower part of breast and

THE COMMON PHEASANT

sides the same, each feather largely tipped with black,
reflecting glossy purple. Feathers of upper part of back,
orange-red tipped with black ; feathers of black and
scapulars have the centre black, or spotted with black,
outside which is a yellowish band, and the outer margin
red-orange. Lower part of back and tail coverts, purplish
red, tinged with green, purple and other reflections — the
feathers long and pendant ; quill feathers, dull greyish-
brown, varied with pale wood brown ; wing coverts, of
two shades of red ; centre of belly, thighs, vent and under-
tail coverts, brownish-black. Tail feathers very long, the
two middle ones the longest, occasionally measuring 2
feet ; the outside ones, which are the shortest, are less than
6 inches long. All are of a reddish-brown, with trans-
verse lines of black, about i inch apart. Legs, toes
and claws, dusky ; on each leg is a spur, which becomes
sharp after the first year.

" The female is less than the male ; the whole plumage
more sober ; general colour, light brown, varied with
darker brown and black ; the upper part of the neck in
some lights shows iridescent reflections ; space round the
eye is feathered ; breast and belly, dotted with small black
spots on a light ground. Tail short, but barred similarly
to that of the male."

Elliot, in speaking of P. Colchicus, has some very
interesting remarks concerning this bird, and as the
monograph containing it is a remarkably scarce work,
the author considers it will be of interest to reproduce
Mr Elliot's remarks : —

" No member of the Phasiatiidcc has been longrer or
more generally known than the above-mentioned species of

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

Pheasant. Every preserve in England and on the Continent,
inhabited at all by Pheasants, contains this bird. But it is
difficult to meet with one that has not at some time or other
received an infusion of foreign blood, and consequently
presents evidences in its plumage, of its ancestors having
lived in the vicinity of P. Torquatiis or P. Versicolor-, which
species have also been largely introduced into Europe. It
is a matter of regret that this hybridism should be permitted,
for it in no way improves any of the species, and gives to
us a race of mongrels, which at least to the ornithologist's
eye, is anything but agreeable."*

I have said that no species of Pheasant has been longer
known than the present, and that I am not wrong in this
assertion, is shown by the discovery of a curious fact which
tells us that it has been an inhabitant of England for over
eio"ht hundred years. Mr W. Boyd Dawkins, in a letter to
the editor of The Ibis, dated 20th April 1859, says :

"It may be of interest to your readers to know that the
most ancient record of the occurrence of the Pheasants in
Great Britain is to be found in the tract De itiventione
Sanies Cruets notre en Jilotiie Acuta et de ductione ejitsdeni
ap2td Waltham, edited from manuscript in the British
Museum, and published in 1864."

Now the point of this passage is that it shows that
P. Colchicus had become naturalised in England before the
Norman invasion, and as the English were not introducers
of strange animals in any well authenticated case, it offers

* Elliot's views in relation to hybridism are certainly not correct, there being
abundant evidence, as strikingly manifested by crossing P. Mongolicus with
P. Colchicus, that a hybrid may excel in every way, that of either of the in-
dividual species.

THE COMMON PHEASANT

fair presumptive evidence that it was introduced by the
Romans.

The original habitat of these Pheasants was said to be
near the River Phasis in Colchis, where the Argonaut when
returning to Greece from their expedition in search of the
Golden Fleece, found it in large numbers. Hence it has
derived the name that it bears.

The Hon. T. S. Powys, in his article on The Birds
Observed in the Ionian Islands, says of the common
Pheasant : —

"That the only localities in which I have myself seen
Pheasants in these parts, were once on the Luro River,
near Preveso, in March 1857, on which occasion I only saw
one, the bird having never previously been met with in
that part of the country ; and again in December of the
same year, in the forests near the mouth of the River Drin
in Albania, where it is apparently common, and where
several fell to our guns. In this latter locality, the Pheasants'
habitat seems to be confined to the radius of from 20 to
30 miles to the north, east and south, to the town of
Alessio, a district for the most part densely-wooded and
well-watered, with occasional tracts of cultivated ground,
Indian corn being apparently the principal produce, and
forming with the Berries of the Privet which abounds
throughout Albania, the chief food of the present species.
We heard many more pheasants than we saw, as the woods
were thick, our dogs wild, and we lost a great deal of time
in making circuits to cross or avoid the numerous deep
streams which intersect the country in every direction."

This species is particularly abundant on the shores of
the Gulf of Salonica, about the mouth of the River Vardar,
and I have been informed, on good authority, that Pheasants

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

are also found in the woods of Vhrakori in Etolia, about
midway between the Gulfs of Lepanto and Arta.

The following account of the habits of this species is
taken from Naumann's Birds of Europe, translated by
H. E. Dresser, Esq : —

" It is found thoroughly wild and in abundance in several
parts of Bohemia, on the Danube, and on the Rhine, and the
wooded islands in this river, on the pasture lands of the
Elbe, and in many fertile and beautiful parts of Germany,
still less in the northern than in the southern part.

" It is necessary to spread them in our part of the world
by human assistance, as this bird is without desire to migrate,
and flies so heavily as to be unable to make long journeys. In
their own country they are said to leave their places of abode
in autumn, but soon return when the weather is favourable,
and are therefore truly migrants. The Pheasant is certainly
a forest bird, but still not so in the truest sense of the term,
for neither does it inhabit the dense tree forest, nor the depths
of the mixed forest, unless driven to do so. Small pieces of
oreen, where deep underbush and high grass grows between
the trees, thorn hedges, berry growing bushes and water
overgrown with weeds, are their chosen places of abode.
Nor must well cultivated and grain growing fields be wanting
where the bird is to do well. It neither likes the raw
mountain country, nor dry sandy places, nor does it frequent
the open woods, unless for protection against its enemies or
during bad weather, or at night.

" It lives on the ground, skulking about the high grass and
dense underbush, and runs long distances without once rising
on the wing. Only when surprised by a beast of prey, does
it take refuge in a tree, which it leaves soon after, and returns
to the ground. It roosts on a branch of a tree, from lo to

THE COxMMON PHEASANT

30 feet high, and it is an exception if one roosts on the
ground, when perhaps it has wandered too far in the fields
from the trees.

" It is an impetuous wild bird, though not really shy, unless
one calls its nervous carefulness and boundless flight by that
name. Even when used to the keeper, and half tame, it
comes to the usual feeding-place at the call with fear and
trembling, and seeks to satisfy itself quickly in order to run
back to its hiding-place in the thicket at the least noise. Its
fear knows no bounds ; a passing mouse will scare it severely,
and even a snail creeping past will frighten the hen from
off her nest, and on the approach of real and great danger,
she remains on it like dead.

"In spring and in pairing time, the male is restless and
wild. He then often comes out of his hiding-place, to an
open place on the edge of the thicket in an erect position,
claps his wings several times, and shoves himself forward in
a peculiar position a few feet, and emits a harsh note, which
one cannot well express except by calling it a crow of one
syllable. It has some resemblance to the crow of the barn-
door cock, but it is shorter. It is a note with which he calls
the female and is seldom heard except in spring. Only
young males sometimes crow in autumn.

" His food consists of grain, sweet fruits and berries, green
herbage, insects and worms, accordingly as the time of the
year for them. Ants and their larva; are a particularly
favoured food of his, and these form the chief food of the
young.

" Male. — Upper part of the head green, brownish on the
occiput, divided by greenish feathers on each side of the head
behind the ears. Throat, sides of face, spotted, under the
eye and neck, green with ridged bluish reflections. Upper
part of the back, golden yellow, with a dark blue V-shaped
c , 33

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

mark at the tip. Feathers of the rest of the back, black, with
their margins deep chestnut, and a white Hne running parallel
to the shaft for two-thirds of the length, and meeting near the
tip. Rump, red, with greenish reflections, becoming deep red
over the tail where the feathers are very much separated and
hide the upper tail coverts. Outer tail coverts, olive-brown
mottled with brownish-black. Upper part of the breast, rich
brown red, glossing from orange to purple and blue. Flanks,
rich golden orange, broadly tipped with deep blue. Abdomen,
black. Central tail feathers, yellowish-brown in the middle,
with a red longitudinal line, and the edges green ; narrow
black bars across the centre, and are continued on the rest
of the feathers with red ones. Lateral feathers, similar, but
mottled with black on the inner webs, the extreme outer
feathers mottled on both webs. Under tail coverts, deep
red. Bill, horn colour ; feet and legs green, bare skin of
thighs, scarlet, finely dotted with green feathers.

"■Female. — Head and neck, reddish-brown, pointed with
black. Upper part of back, rufous, with broad V-shaped
lines, and tips of feathers black. The rest of the back,
yellowish-brown, with black centres and black tips. Second-
aries, chestnut, barred with black and buff, the latter dividing
the former, and tipped with white. Primaries, brownish-
black, barred on outer webs with yellowish-white, and
mottled on inner with same. Rump, yellowish-brown, centre
of feathers black. Upper part of the breast, rufous, with
irregular black lines crossing the feathers. Flanks, yellowish,
barred with brownish-black. Middle of breast and abdomen,
yellowish-brown, finely vermiculated with dark brown. Tail
feathers, chestnut in the centre, barred with black, a narrow
irregular yellowish line going from the black bar, the outer
edges of brown, mottled with black. Tail, blackish-brown,
and feet and legs, grey."

THE COMMON PHEASANT

Dixon, in his Ga>]ie Birds of the British Islands (1893),
has the following paragraph concerning the pairing of the
Pheasant : —

" Semi-domestication appears to have so far affected the
morals of the Pheasant that it has caused it to depart from its
usual monogamous instincts and to adopt the looser ethics of
polygamy, just as the domesticated descendants of the wild
duck have done. In its native wilds the Pheasant appears to
be strictly monogamous, but in this country the male bird
almost invariably associates itself with several females (as
many as his prowess or his charms can keep or attract), and
upon them devolves all care of the eggs and young. Instances,
however, are on record where cock Pheasants in our islands
have been known to assist, not only in the duties of incubation,
but in attending to the brood. The Pheasant does not appear
to have been polygamous long enough to have certain
recognised pairing stations or ' laking ' places, but towards
the end of March the cock birds bec^in to crow and fisfht for
the females, each collecting and maintaining a harem varying
in size with his prowess. The hens go to nest in April and
May. The inherent timidity or shyness of this species causes
it to breed in seclusion, and the great nesting grounds are
well in the cover of the plantations and woods, although many
odd birds nest wide amongst growing crops, or in the hedge
bottoms. Sometimes the nest is placed by strange caprice
in an old squirrel's drey or on the top of a stack, and I have
known it in the centre of a tuft of rushes within a couple of
yards of a much-frequented footpath. Each female makes
a scanty nest under the arched shelter of brambles or dead
bracken, or very often beneath heaps of cut brushwood which
has been left upon the ground all winter. It is little more
than a hollow, in which a few bits of dry bracken or dead

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

leaves and scraps of grass are collected. The eggs are usually
from eight to twelve in number ; sometimes as many as
twenty are found, and I have known of an instance in
which a single hen has brought off twenty-six chicks from as
many eggs. They vary from brown through olive-brown to
bluish-green in colour, and are unspotted. The late Mr
Seebohm, Jun., and myself took a clutch some years ago in
Northumberland of the normal colour, amongst which was
one of a delicate greenish-blue. They measure on an average
1.8 inch in length by 1.4 inch in breadth. Incubation lasts, on
an average, twenty-four days. The Pheasant only rears one
brood in the year ; but if the first clutch is unfortunate, other
eggs are laid, as hens have been known to sit as late as
September. When leaving her nest for a short time to feed,
the hen carefully covers her eggs with leaves, and invariably
flies from her home when she quits it voluntarily, returning
in the same manner. The young are seldom fully grown
before the end of July."

CHAPTER III

The Mongolian Pheasant [Phasianus Mongolicus)

Thp: introduction of the Mongolian Pheasant into the
British Isles has most certainly done more towards the
improvement of Pheasants in the coverts than any other
variety. For strength of flight, for size, for soundness of
constitution, fertility, and early maturity, the Mongolian
Pheasant, both in its pure and hybrid forms, stands second
to none, and the author believes that most shooting men,
game-rearers and others interested in Pheasant preservation
will concur in the truth of this statement.

It is impossible for Mongolian Pheasants to be kept in
the wrong place, as they will thrive under conditions that
would be totally inadequate for the rearing of other birds
belonging to the same genus. It is a species that not only
succeeds as a first, second and third cross, but in subsequent
ones, in fact, it can be crossed and recrossed without ap-
parently showing any signs of degeneracy, as happens in
the case of most other species. Take, for instance, the
Japanese Pheasant. The first cross is generally a very
successful one, but subsequent ones have proved to be
failures in the majority of instances.

As the name implies, this Pheasant comes from Mongolia,
from the cold parts of China, and the Valley of the Black Irtish.

Mongolia is one of the deserts of the world, the vegetation
being scanty, and very little rain falls, whilst cold blasts come
from the north, and the winters are intensely cold. In the
centre and eastern portions are mountain ranges, and between
these fertile valleys. As the vegetation is scanty, and there

2,7

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

are many sandy dunes, it follows that the Mongolian Pheasants
have to be good foragers. Extreme heat frequently prevails in
Mongolia, consequently the birds are accustomed to a climate
in which opposite conditions prevail, therefore this may account
for their particular suitability to British game preserves.

In some respects the Mongolian Pheasant resembles
P. J orqtiatjis, but of the two it is the more massive bird, and
possesses certain other features that is at once distinctive
from the Chinese species.

It has a white ring round the neck, though the ring is
incomplete in front, the intervening area being the same
colour as that of the breast, orange-red, with green or purplish
reflections. The wing coverts are white, which serves to distin-
guish it from the other species. The rump is dark maroon,
with green reflections, merging into that of purple. The tail
feathers are barred with either brown or brownish-red mark-
ings. In general appearance the feathering of the bird is
not unlike that of Phasianus Colchicus, though a much more
massively built bird throughout.

The total length of the adult male is about 36 inches,
and the female 10 inches less. The Mongolian hen crossed
with a Japanese cock i^P. Versico/a) produces good hybrids,
which are prolific, strong on the wing, and early to reach
maturity, but the best cross of all is the half-bred Mongolian,
i.e., half P. Mongolicus and half P. Colcliicus, the product
being the most magnificent bird it is possible to breed for
sporting purposes, and such a hybrid is a distinct advance
upon any pure or mixed variety of Pheasant hitherto known.

Hardihood, size, soundness of constitution, grreat strenarth
of flight, early maturity, fertility, adaptability to circumstances,
and quality of the flesh, are the characteristics possessed by
these birds.

Three-quarter bred Mongolians are in great demand, in

'SI

Z 5

< s

§1

I— I

THE MONGOLIAN PHEASANT

fact more so than half-bred, as the more the MongoHan
predominates in the hybrid the more vigorous the bird. The
Mongolian crosses well with the Chinese, with the Japanese,
the first cross being the best one. There is no reason why
the Mongolian should not hybridise with other species, such
as the Amherst, Reeves, Prince of Wales, etc. Many game-
preservers procure pure Mongolian cocks, and introduce these
amongst the common Pheasants of the woodlands, which, as
stated elsewhere, is a hybrid, between the Chinese and black-
necked Pheasant, but it is better to cross P. Mongolicus with
P. Colckicus (the old English Pheasant), introducing fresh
stock from time to time.

Adult Ma/e. — Is easily distinguished from all the maroon
and red-rumped species previously described, by having a
broad white ring (interrupted in front) around the neck.
Otherwise it most resembles P. Persicus, but the mantle
and chest and breast are bronzy orange red, glossed with
purple carmine in one light and green in the other. The
rump is a dark maroon, strongly glossed with green, shooting
into purple ; the throat is purplish bronzy red to the breast,
and the flank feathers are tipped with very dark green, and
in the middle of the breast and the sides of the belly are dark
green. It is, moreover, rather a large bird. Total length,
36.5 inches ; wing, 9.6 ; tail, 22 ; tarsus, 2.8.

Adult Female. — Like the female of the P. Chrysomelus,
but there is a black spot near the extremity of each feather
of the upper mantle and a black bar across the middle, instead
of a broad black sub-marginal border. Total length, 26
inches; wing, 8.5; tail, 12.3; tarsus, 2.5.

Range. — From the valley of the Syr- Darya, across the
basin of Lake Balkash, as far east as Lake Saisan and the
Valley of the Black Irtish, and southwards to the Valley of
the lie and Issik Kul.

CHAPTER IV

Prince of Wales Pheasant [Pkasiaims Principalis)

This is a distinct species of Pheasant, resembling in many of
its features the Mongolian, but has certain characteristics
which sharply define it from the last-named species. Judging
from the locality to which it is indigenous, it ought to prove
of the greatest service in game preserves where the geo-
graphical conditions are inclined to be of a swampy nature,
and it is rather surprising that it has not been more freely
introduced into British coverts than it has been ; in fact, up
to the present time, this species has been kept more in the
hands of breeders of fancy Pheasants than in those engaged
in the preservation of game in our woodlands. Its strong
flight, vigorous constitution, beauty of plumage, prolificacy,
and fertility of the eggs, renders it particularly suitable to
the British game-preservers. Its nomenclature, Phasiatius
Principalis, has been derived from the fact that a pair of
skins of this species belonging to the late King Edward VII.,
then Prince of Wales, were exhibited before the Zoological
Society during 1885, and brought over from Afghanistan.
The Prince of Wales Pheasant inhabits the banks of the
Bala Murghab, in the swampy districts of which it has
been very abundant. Its environment is vastly different
to that of most other species of Pheasant, in which the
desire for seclusion in coverts and hedge-rows is so distinctly
manifest.

In length this species is similar to that of P. Colc/uciis,

PRINCE OF WALES PHEASANT

viz., about 36 inches, and the tail feathers have dark trans-
verse markinors. It has white wingr coverts, similar to that
in P. Mo7igoUcus, but it is distinguished from the latter bird
by the complete absence of the white ring round the neck.
The plumage of the chest and breast is tipped with dark
purple, giving a purple-green reflection. The ground colour
is golden-red, spangled with a deep bright purple.

There seems to be no reason why the Prince of Wales
Pheasant should not hybridise well with the Mongolian,
although the writer is not aware of anyone having tried the
production of hybrids from the two species named. The
first discovery of the bird by the British appears to have
been by the members of the Afghan Delimitation Commission
in 1884, and it was during that year that a considerable
number of birds were shot.

Ogilvie Grant, in his Handbook on British Game Birds,
refers to Phasiamis Principalis in the following terms : —

" Adult Male. — This may be easily distinguished by having
white wing coverts of P. Persicus, but unlike that species
the rump is bronze-red, and practically there is no purple
lake gloss on the lower back, rump and upper tail coverts.
The feathers of the chest and the breast are broadly tipped
with dark purplish-green. Total length, 35.5 inches ; wing,
9.4; tail, 21.5 ; tarsus, 2.7.

''Adult Female. — Much paler than the female of P.
Colchicus and P. Persicus, the brown colour of the feathers
of the mantle being pale rufous, and the general colour of
the rest of the plumage, pale sandy buff It is extremely
similar to the female of the P. Chrysonielus from the Amu-
Darya, having the black spots on the middle line of the
chest feathers more strongly marked than any other allied
species.

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

" RauQe. — North-western Afghanistan and North Persia.

''Habits. — This extremely handsome species was first
discovered in 1884 by the members of the Afghan De-
limitation Commission, and the Naturalist attached to the
Expedition prepared some beautiful skins. Dr Aitchison
informs us that the specimens of this Pheasant were all got
on the banks of the Bala Murghab, where it occurs in
considerable numbers in the tamarisk, and grass jungle grow-
ing in the bed of the river. He stated that more than four
hundred were killed on the march of 30 miles up the river,
and that the bird not only wades through the water to make
from one point of advantage to another, but it also swims,
and is apparently quite at home in the thickets where there
is always water to the depth of 2 or 3 feet. These
swampy thickets afford good shelter, and in the morning and
evening the Pheasants leave it for more dry and open country,
where they pick up their food."

CHAPTER V

The Chinese Pheasant {Phasianus Torquatus)

The Chinese Pheasant i^Pliasianus Torquatus) is a distinct
species, originally introduced into Great Britain from China,
to which the bird is indigfenous. According to authoritative
accounts, it belongs to the North of China, and large
quantities of frozen birds are sent down the market to
Pekin.

In many respects the Chinese Pheasant resembles the
common Pheasant i^P. Colchicus), but it has the distinctive
white ring around its neck, from which the specific name
Torquatus has been derived. In pure-bred specimens
this ring is complete, whereas, in the Pheasants found in
British game preserves, there may be only traces of this
ring, as these birds are hybrids, derived from the Chinese
and the common Pheasant, with a certain amount of Japanese
Pheasant intermingled. Therefore, in spite of the fact that
the Chinese Pheasant as a progenitor, stamps its distinctive
features on the hybrid, the latter has a tendency to revert
to the black-necked Pheasant, its prepotency being more
strongly marked than that of P. Torquatus.

Considered in the light of improvement, the alliance
of Chinese Pheasants with those of Great Britain, has
exercised a most salutary influence, and such may be sum-
marised as follows : —

First of all, the constitution of the birds has become more
vigorous ; secondly, there has been a distinct increase in size

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

and weight ; thirdly, the brilliancy of the plumage has been
enhanced ; fourthly, increase in size instead of diminution has
resulted, and been maintained ; fifthly, hardihood and pro-
lificacy, combined with great strength of flight, fertility and
maturity, have all been maintained, which, in all probability,
would not have been so had British game-preservers had to
rely upon the black-necked breed as opposed to the ring-
necked variety, or hybrids therefrom.

Some game-preservers — principally those of the older
school — seem to be opposed to the introduction of alien blood
into their stock, apparently taking a pride in maintaining purity
of what are known to some as "Old English Pheasants,"
maintaining that the flesh of these birds is more deli-
cate in its texture, and that they are of stronger flight.
Whether or not this is the correct view to take, opinions will
be divided, but it is as well to understand that in the breeding
and perpetuation of individual species, it is essential for the
maintenance of the constitutional vigour, to infuse fresh
blood, either of the same, or an allied species, the latter for
preference, provided that other conditions are favourable.

It is stated that it is rather a difficult matter to maintain
the Chinese Pheasant in a state of purity, and many birds
sold as such are, doubtless, not pure bred. This is more
applicable to the Chinese Pheasant than to most other
varieties, in which the slightest adulteration may render itself
evident in the plumage, though it is not so readily discernible
in the Chinese Pheasant.

These remarks are more especially applicable to the first
cross of P. Tonjnattis with that of P. Co/chicus, less so in
the second, third and fourth generations. There is a first-
class description of the Chinese Pheasant given in Mr Gould's
Birds of Asia, from which the author has taken the liberty
of reproducing it. Mr Gould says :

THE CHINESE PHEASANT

" The male has the forehead deep green, crown of the
head, fawn coloured, glossed with green ; over each eye, a
conspicuous streak of huffy white ; the naked papillated skin
of the orbits and sides of the face, deep scarlet or blood red,
interspersed beneath the eye with a series of very minute
black feathers ; horn-like tufts on each side of the head, throat
and neck, rich deep, shining green, with violet reflections ;
near the base of the neck, a conspicuous collar of shining
white feathers, narrow before and behind, and broadly dilated
at the sides ; the feathers at the back of the neck, black, with
a narrow mark of white down the centre of the back portion,
and a large lengthened mark of ochreous yellow, within the
edge of each web near the tip, the feathers at the back and
capillaries black at the base, with a streak of white at the
middle, then buff surrounded with a distinct narrow band of
black, to which succeeds an outer fringe of chestnut ; feathers
at the back, black, with numerous zig-zag and crescentic
marks of buffy white ; lower part of the back, rump and upper
tail coverts, light green of various shades, passing into bluish-
grey at the sides, below which is a mark of rufous ; breast
feathers indented at the tip, of a rich, reddish-chestnut, with
purple reflections, and each bordered with black ; flanks, fine
buff, with a large angular spot of beautiful violet at the tip ;
centre of the abdomen, black, with violet reflections ; under
tail coverts, reddish-chestnut ; wing coverts, silver grey ;
wings, brown, the primaries, with light shafts, and crossed
with narrow bars of light buff; the secondaries, similar, but
not so irregularly marked as the primaries ; tail feathers, olive,
fringed with different shades of violet, and crossed at regular
intervals, with broad, conspicuous, black bands, passing into
a reddish-brown on the sides of the basal portion of the six
central feathers ; bill, yellowish-horn colour ; irides, yellow ;
feet, greyish-white. The female has the whole of the upper

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

surface brownish-black, with a margin of buff with every
feather, the throat whitish, and the central portion of the
under surface, fawn colour ; flanks, mottled brown ; tail, buff,
barred with dark brown, between which are other interrupted
bars of the same hue. These marks are broader on the two
central feathers than on the others, and, moreover, do not
reveal the edge on either side."

Regarding the confinement of the Chinese Pheasant to
the aviary, little need be said, as the extremely hardy nature
of these birds, befits them to environment under all ordinary
conditions. It is a variety which does well in covert and
aviary.

The colouring on the lower portion of the back serves to
distinguish the Chinese Pheasant from other species. The
rump and the upper tail coverts have a greenish-grey lustre,
and on either side, a coloured patch, whilst around the neck,
there is a distinct clearly defined white ring. The flank
feathers, also those of the mantle, are buffy orange, whereas, in
Phasiaiius Fortnosamis, the feathers in these regions are pale
' yellow. The breast, chest feathers, have very narrow purple
margins, but the general colour of the breast feathering has
a purple lake sheen upon it. The bars on the tail feathers
are broader than in some other species.

CHAPTER VI

Shaw's Pheasant [Phasianus Shawit)

This species of Pheasant belongs to the genus Phasiaims,
and in many of its features it is closely allied to P. Colchictis.
It is regarded by some authorities as the parent stock from
which all the Chinese Pheasants have been derived. In
connection with this matter Elliot makes the following
statement : —

"This species P. Shawii is one of the most interesting
discoveries yet made among gallinaceous birds, apparently
presenting to us the original stock, looking at the subject
from a Darwinian point of view, from which all the species
of the Chinese Pheasants have descended."

It is a resident of the valleys of Yarkand and Kashgar,
extending as far eastwards as the Rivers Aksu and Khotan.
The total length of the male is about 36 inches, and that of
the female 24 inches.

The former is distinguished from Colchicus by the wing
coverts which are white, whilst the back, rump and upper
tail coverts, are of a yellowish -red bronze, emitting green and
purple reflections. The breast and belly are dark green.
The hen bird is very plain, and has a ground colour of a
pale reddish-buff.

Shaw's Pheasant is regarded as a very untamable bird,
and its wild nature prevents it from occupying a position

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

of any value in game preserves. Mr Shaw in shooting in
Eastern Turkestan shot many of this species, which he
mistook for P. Cokhictts. He brought two male birds back
to England, thinking that they would be a valuable addition
to the species already existing in this country, and it is due
to this fact that the species has been so named.

CHAPTER VII

Reeves', or the Bar-Tailed Pheasant {Pkasianus Reevesii)

This is a magnificent species of Pheasant, and one that has
been introduced into many coverts for improving the beauty
of the plumage in the production of hybrids. Although
known for centuries, the Reeves' Pheasant was not introduced
into Europe until 1831, a male bird having been imported
by one Mr Reeves, but what may be termed its first successful
introduction into the British Isles was due to the efforts
of Messrs Stone & Medhurst. It is a native of the mountains
of Northern and Western China, and there is no doubt
that the country to which it is indigenous renders it
particularly suitable for flourishing upon British soil, but
especially so for mountainous districts, such as Scotland
and Wales, where it has plenty of range to indulge in
its natural roving habits. During flight the Reeves'
Pheasant is remarkably vigorous, and owing to the enor-
mous length of its tail, it is a difficult bird to shoot until
the sportsman becomes an adept in the art of shooting
these Pheasants, as allowance has to be made for the
great length of the tail.

For pace and strength of flight the Reeves' Pheasant has
no equal amongst the genus to which it belongs.

The total length of the tail is about 5 feet, and owing
to the transverse markings or bars, the term "Barred"
Pheasant is sometimes applied to this species. The total
length of the bird is about 6^ feet, and it looks all this when

D 49

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

in flight. During repose the tail feathers do, to a considerable
extent, cover one another, but when in flight they are spread
out in a lateral manner.

The head is covered by a white cap of feathers, and
beneath this there is a black band extending from the base
of the beak to the back of the skull where it unites with the
corresponding band on the other side of the face, and
encircling the eyes. Below this is a broad white collar,
which is again followed by a dark-coloured band, but not
so broad as the collar. This alternate arrangement of light
and dark markings stands out in strong contrast with what
may be termed the " general body colour."

The feathers along the back to the wing coverts and
towards the black band on the neck, are of an intense yellow,
the margin of each feather being black. The wing coverts
are white, and their margins also black, whilst the feathers
on the breast and below the wing coverts are white, with
cinnamon-coloured margins. There is a peculiarity in the
arrangement of the feathers, and the only term that the
author knows which will express this arrangement is that
of "imbricated," i.e., overlapping at their margins.

The number of feathers comprising the tail is usually
eighteen, and these, as previously stated, are barred, the
ground colour being of a creamy white or faint grey.

Many game - preservers have tried crossing Reeves'
Pheasant with other species, and some of these experiments
have been a success and others not so, but there is a
consensus of opinion that the Reeves' Pheasant will hybridise
well with the common Pheasant, and also with the Chinese,
the Golden Pheasant, and the Silver Pheasant, and that the
product of such mating is generally very satisfactory, more
especially with the common Pheasant.

Reeves' Pheasant crosses particularly well with P. Colc/ncus,

REEVES', OR THE BAR-TAILED PHEASANT

but opinions differ as to whether the hybrids thus produced
prove fertile or otherwise, there being insufficient evidence to
give any dogmatic statements in relationship to this matter, but
the author sees no reason why Reeves' hybrids — the product
of the Reeves' cock and the common hen Pheasant of the
coverts, should not produce fertile birds. As aviary birds,
Reeves' Pheasant crossed with the Golden, produces hybrids
unsurpassed in beauty, and birds that thrive remarkably well
in confinement.

In coverts where the trees are tall, the introduction of
several birds of this species would be a distinct advantage,
and lead to the production of towering Pheasants, provided
that circumstances are favourable.

Adult Male. — -The crown, white, surrounded by a wide
black band ; chin, throat and nape, white, margined below
by a black ring which surrounds the neck. The upper
parts, mostly cinnamon, each feather bordered with black
presenting a scale -like appearance. Wing coverts, white,
broadly margined and centred with black ; chest, sides of
breast and flank feathers, somewhat similar, the two former
with chestnut margins, the latter with buff extremities ; rest
of under parts, black. Middle pair of tail feathers, enormously
elongated, white down the middle, barred with black and
chestnut and brownish-black on the sides ; outermost pair,
buff, tipped with black. Total length, 6 feet 6 inches ;
wing, 10.3 inches; tail, 5 feet; tarsus, 3.1 inches.

Adult Female. — Crown, reddish-brown ; rest of head and
neck, buff, except ear coverts, and a band across the nape,
which are mostly a bluish-brown. Feathers of the upper
mantle, rufous, tipped with brownish-grey, mottled with
black, and each with a somewhat heart-shaped spot. Rest of
the upper parts mottled with rufous buff and grey. The
wing coverts and scapulars with buff and the lower back

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

with black shaft stripes ; chest, breasts and sides, somewhat
like the mantle, but the white spots much less conspicuous ;
rest of the under parts, pale buff. The middle tail feathers,
mottled with sandy buff and black ; outer pairs, chestnut,
mixed with black and barred and tipped with white. Total
length, 32 inches; wing, 9; tail, 16.6; tarsus, 2.5.

Range. — Mountains of Northern and Western China
extending as far east as Kiu-kiang (Ogilvie Grant).

Hybrids between Reeves' and the Golden Pheasant have
been bred in confinement, and the males are remarkably
handsome birds, having a general plumage of reddish-brown.

Mr E. F. Creagh, writing in the Field, of 13th May 1886,
has some very interesting notes relating to the Reeves'
Pheasants, and as this description gives in a concise manner
facts of general interest, the author has taken the liberty of
reproducing Mr Creagh's notes, which are as follows : —

"It was from Ichang, the post at the head waters of the
Tangtse, the great river of China, or rather where that river
reaches its gorges, that I started with the stream to a large
valley where I knew Reeves' Pheasant had been seen. It
is useless to ask any questions of the country folk, who will
always answer 'Yes.' I therefore landed and walked along
the wide valley, with high perpendicular mountains on either
side, and beetling over small woods Cypress. The birds live
on the berry of this tree, and fly from one wood to another.
They will never show themselves if they can avoid it, and
through their great flights when running, steal away from
the dogs. Sometimes, however, when taken by surprise they
rise, and then only by great caution can a single sportsman
hope to get them. Surrounding the woods with several guns
is the best way to take them. I think they drive away the
P. Torquatits, for I have never seen the two species together.

REEVES', OR THE BAR-TAILED PHEASANT

This may perhaps be due to the fact of their living on
different food. I had with me at the time a Spaniel and
a Red Irish Setter, and as the day was fine and clear, walked
on quietly, until I came to what appeared to be good country.
The hills here were lower, and the wood fairly dense but
without undergrowth. A wood-cutter told me he had seen
several Pheasants a few days ago but could give no further
information, so tying up my Spaniel, I determined to work
quietly along with the setter. Although it was January,
the day was hot, and I was obliged to dispense with my
coat as I struggled up the hill. 1 worked along the lower
part without coming on any scent. Suddenly the setter got
very busy, and moved along showing me that he had some
large game. I followed as well as I could over the broken
ground. False scent ! back again. Then the dog took
a turn up the almost perpendicular rock. I thought, ' How
could the birds get up there and leave no scent.' They had
evidently helped themselves with their wings. I was deter-
mined to follow, and brought the setter back to a place
where we succeeded in getting on to the upper ledge after
a litde scrambling. Having arrived at the top, as I had
anticipated, we soon came to the scent again, and away went
the dog very cautiously setting every now and again. Just
ahead of us now was a stone wall. I was very much afraid
that they might come to the rise just as I was getting over,
so I made preparations for a surprise. I knew there were
several birds or some larger game by the general activity
and caution shown by the dog. I was soon over the wall
ready for anything. Below me was some long grass. On
the edge I had left some high trees on my right, the hill also
with long grass, but no wood. I was very badly placed,
for I could not see where the game could be. Up got six
Reeves' Pheasants, splendid birds. I felt certain of two,

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

but I only succeeded in bagging one, which went rolling down
the hill in its last struggles. The bird I bagged was a cock,
measuring 5 feet 4 inches from the bill to the end of the
tail feathers."

The Reeves' has at various times been turned down on
some of the sporting properties of Great Britain, but it
cannot be considered a success, for the males drive away
the common and ring-necked Pheasants, and do not
interbreed freely with either species.

A fight between two old cocks is a beautiful exhibition of
activity and spirit. They spring up 5 or 6 feet in the air
before striking, and such is their agility, that the bird assailed
hardly ever allows himself to be struck. So much the
better for him, for it will be observed that the legs are
garnished with spurs as long and sharp as those of the
game-cock.

The last peculiarity of this species worth naming, is
that when they set out on a jaunt, they make for the highest
point within range, whereas the common Pheasant is
accustomed to travel downwards, along the course of the
valleys.

CHAPTER VIII
Scemmerring's Pheasant {P/iasianus Soemmerringii)

This species of Pheasant is indigenous to the southern
portions of Japan, existing in localities similar to those
occupied by the Japanese Pheasant (/*. Versicolor). The
ornithologist Temminck, appears to have been one of the first
European Naturalists to describe the bird with any degree of
accuracy, though sportsmen had given descriptions of it prior
to the observations of the ornithologist referred to. It is an
uncommon species in British game preserves, mainly because
of its pugnacious habits. In other respects it is suitable for
crossing with the common Pheasant.

Confinement in aviaries has possibly something to do with
exciting the vicious habits of this species, as such confinement
does unquestionably tend towards the production of irritability
of temperament. Scemmerring's Pheasant breeds readily in
the aviaries, and specialists in fancy Pheasants can usually
supply birds of this species ; if not the birds, eggs for
hatching.

The plumage of this Pheasant is extremely handsome, and
two very characteristic features presented by the male and
the female are the broad, widely separated, transverse
markings on the tail of the former, and the short tail of the
latter.

The breast and under parts of the tail feathers are chestnut ;
the upper surface of the throat and back of the bird is also
chestnut or coppery brown, but when the feathers are examined

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

separately, they are grey below, brown in the middle, with a
broad stripe down the centre, and on either side, chestnut-
brown. Both primaries and secondaries are dark brown.
The tail feathers are chestnut, and have dark or black trans-
verse stripes about a couple of inches apart. The interven-
ing areas between the bands are of a somewhat lighter tint
than the general chestnut colour of the body.

The female has the feathers on the head and upper surface
mottled with chestnut. The rump and the tail coverts are of
a dull chestnut, barred with brown, whilst the wing coverts
are tipped with black and white. Throat, buff, and the
feathers on the under surface of the body, brown, tipped with
light buff, inclined, on either side, to be tawny.

Soemmerring's Pheasant, although suitable for aviaries,
cannot be regarded as a species that is ever very likely
to become popular amongst British game-preservers, there
being many other Pheasants vastly superior for such
purposes.

Considering the importance of the Soemmerring Pheasant,
the author thinks that it is advisable to supplement his
remarks by the following notes, which are extracted from
Grant's Hand-Book of Game Birds : —

"Adult Male. — The general colour above chestnut or
brownish-chestnut, the margins of the feathers of the upper
parts and chest glossed with purplish-carmine, changing to
fiery gold. The basal part of the feathers, black, most con-
spicuous on the wing coverts. The breast and rest of the
under parts and tail feathers, chestnut, the long middle pair
with white narrow black bars, dividing the lighter from the
darker chestnut, and the outer pairs widely tipped with black.
Total length, 50 inches ; wing, 8.8 ; tail, t,'].

" Adult Female. — Crown of the head, blackish, each feather

S(EMMERR1NGS PHEASANT

margined with rufous, the general colour of the upper parts,
black, mottled with sandy buff and rufous. The feathers
on the mantle with the ground colour mostly rufous, those
of the back and scapulars mostly black with buff showing
stripes. Chin, throat and fore-part of the neck, pale buff, most
of the feathers, except those down the middle being tipped with
black ; chest, pale greyish rufous, spotted with black. Rest
of the under parts are mostly buff Tail feathers, chestnut, the
middle pairs indistinctly mottled with black and buff, the outer
pairs tipped with black and white. Total length, 21.0 inches ;
wing, 8.1 ; tail, 7.5 ; tarsus, 2.1."

Range. — Japanese Islands of Hondo and Kiu-siu.

Habits. — Very little has been written about the habits
of Soemmerring's Copper Pheasant, and the only public
notices are not very important. Since the year 1865,
several birds have been bred in the Zoological Gardens,
but the young birds have not survived for more than a
few days.

Dr Joseph Wilson gives the following notice on this
species : —

" During the first part of our stay at Simoda, the cultivated
fields afforded no food for the Pheasants. The natives told
us they were plentiful in the hills, but no one was willing to
undertake to show them, and several rambles through the
bushes where these birds were supposed to feed, ended in
disappointment. Once only I had a glimpse of a brood of
young ones near the mountains, but they immediately dis-
appeared by running very rapidly. The note of one or other
of this species of Pheasant was heard frequently. On the
top of the precipitous hill about a mile from Simoda, covered
by small trees and very thick undergrowth of shrubbery, the

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

Pheasant (or so we were assured by the Japanese) passed the
weary hours while his mate was on her nest, and very sensibly
solaced himself and her with such music as he was capable of
making. It was, however, anything but melodious, and may
be represented as a sort of compound of the filing of a saw
and the screech of the peacock. There are two notes only
uttered in quick succession, and represented by the Japanese
name of Ki-ji, but the second note is much longer, louder and
more discordant, in fact has more of the saw-filing character,
Kee Jsese. These two notes are uttered, and if the bird is
not disturbed, they are repeated in about five minutes. A
good many times, perhaps twenty, to become better acquainted
with these individuals failed ; it seemed impossible to make
him fly if his covert was by any means extensive."

Mr A. D. Bartlett, the superintendent of the Zoological
Gardens, in London, writing of this species, says :

"Among the Phasianidoe, some species are remarkable
for their pugnacious and fierce dispositions, not only the males,
but frequently the females destroy each other. The want of
sufficient space and means of escape among bushes and shrubs
or trees is no doubt the cause of a good many females being
killed when kept in confinement, and this serious misfortune
is not a rare occurrence. After the cost and trouble in obtain-
ing the birds, and when they have recovered from their long
confinement on the voyage, their owner desires to reap a
reward by obtaining an abundance of eggs, as the birds ap-
proach the breeding season. Alas ! he finds that some dis-
turbance has occurred. The place is filled with feathers,
and the female bird, from whom he has expected so much,
is found dead, or dying, her head scalped, or her eyes
picked out, or some equally serious injury inflicted. I

SCEMMERRING'S PHEASANT

have found some species more inclined to this cruelty
than others, the worst according to my experience being
the P. Sceinmerringii.

" Eggs — pale greenish white, rather long ovals ; shell
smooth and fine. Average measurement, 1.8 inches by
1.35 inches."

CHAPTER IX

The Japanese Pheasant {Pkasianus Versicolor)

The Japanese Pheasant is an extremely handsome species,
and one that will readily hybridise with various other birds
of the genera, such as Colchiciis, Torquatus, Mongolicus, etc.,
and the offspring be perfecdy fertile, but it cannot be regarded
as a successful bird for introduction into coverts, as the suc-
ceeding generations after the first one, at any rate when mated
with the common ring-necked Pheasant, have proved more
or less a failure.

The author cannot say that these remarks are applicable
when mated with Mongolicus, as the vigorous constitution of
these birds seems to not only assert itself, but reassert itself,
from one generation to another. The influence exercised by
P. Versicolor is not sufficiendy stable ; therefore, the beautiful
plumage characteristic of these birds is soon abolished, unless
re-established from generation to generation.

With reference to the cross between a Japanese and the
common Pheasant, Tegetmeier has the following remarks, on
page 171, in his work on Pheasants : —

" The cross between the Japanese and the common
Pheasant is a bird of brilliant plumage, easy to rear, of greater
size than the average of English birds, and the flesh is very
tender and well flavoured. In Norfolk this very beautiful
cross was introduced some few years back by Mr J. H.
Gurney, who bred most successfully, both at Euston and
Northrepps, and from the birds he obtained at Knowsley sale,

THE JAPANESE PHEASANT

and the common Pheasant, though chiefly with the ring-
necked cross, and produced magnificent specimens ; and from
the eggs being greatly sought after by other game-keepers in
his district, the race soon spread throughout the county."

From personal observation and inquiry, however, writes
Mr Stevenson : —

" During the last two or three years, it appears, evidences
of this cross, even in the coverts where these hybrids were
most plentiful, are now scarcely perceptible, the strong char-
acteristics of the Chinese birds apparently absorbing all the
less marked though darker tints of the Japanese. One of
these birds, killed in 1853, weighed upwards of 4 lbs., and
m.any examples, which were stuffed for the beauty of their
plumage, will be found in the collections of our country
gentlemen."

Tegetmeier seems to think that with the fresh introduction
of new blood and care in the preservation of the cross-bred
birds, that a permanent race would be established, precisely
in the same manner as the ring-necked hybrid, as the two
birds, P. Versicolor and P. ^ Torqiiahis, would practically stand
in the same degree of relationship. As the author has pre-
viously stated, Phasiamis Mongolicus is a much more suitable
bird to mate with the Japanese Pheasant, although there is
no real necessity, and practically no advantage, excepting that
of enhancing beauty of plumage, for the introduction of P.
Versicolor into British game preserves. In the aviary, the
Japanese is a great ornament, more especially when seen side
by side with the Golden Pheasant, and hybrids can be pro-
duced from these two birds in spite of the fact that they
belong to different genera.

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

P. Versicolor was first introduced into Great Britain during
1840, and it is rather singular to relate how the breed was
established into British game preserves. A male Jand female
were imported, but the hen died, and the male bird had to be
utilised for crossing with P. Colchicus. The birds of the
first generation were half and half, those of the second
generation, three-quarter bred, whilst the succeeding genera-
tions were mated with the parent bird, until a pure stock
of P. Versicolor was finally established. {See Chapter on
Hybrids.) It was fortunate that it was the hen bird that
died, otherwise the difiiculty of restoring the breed would
have been much greater.

The Japanese Pheasant is regarded as having little dis-
position to stray, which is a recommendation, and also that
they are good flyers ; the male hybrids, i.e., P. Versicolor plus
P. Colchicus, resemble Stone's Pheasant [Phasianus Elegans),
which is a native of South-western China. P/iasianus Versicolor
has a most distinctive plumage, and there is no difiiculty in
recognising birds of this species. The whole of the neck and
under parts of the body are a magnificent deep green, bluish-
green in reality, whilst the back of the neck, breast and under
surface, are a brighter green. The scapularies are a distinct
chestnut, with buffy markings. Tail coverts a slaty green.
The tail is barred and has a total length of 17 inches, whilst
the length of the bird is about 30 inches. In the female the
length of the tail is 10 inches, and her total length 24 inches.
The best description concerning the plumage of these birds
that the author has come across, is that given in Mr Gould's
Birds 0/ Asia, from which the following extract is made : —

"The male has the forehead, crown, and occiput, purplish

oiled green ; ear tufts, glossy green ; chin, throat and sides

and back of the neck, glossy changeable bluish-green ; back

THE JAPANESE PHEASANT

of the neck, breast, and under surface deep shining, grass-
green, with shades of purple on the back of the neck and
upper part of the breast ; feathers of the back and scapularies,
chestnut, with buffy shafts, and two narrow lines of buff,
running round each, about equidistant from each other and
the margin ; lower part of the back and upper tail coverts,
light glaucous grey ; shoulders and wing coverts, light
greenish-grey, washed with purple ;; primaries, brown on the
internal web, toothed with dull white at the base ; outer web,
greyer, and irregularly banded with dull white ; tertiaries,
brown, speckled with grey, and margined first with greenish-
grey and then with chestnut ; centre of abdomen and thighs,
blackish-brown ; tail, glaucous grey, slightly fringed with
purplish, and with a series of black marks down the centre,
opposite to the base of the feathers, where they assume a
band-like form. As they advance towards the tip they
gradually become more and more irregular, until they are
arranged alternately, and in the like manner gradually increase
in size. On the lateral feathers these marks are much smaller,
and on the outer ones they are entirely wanting, those
feathers being covered with freckles of brown ; orbits,
crimson red, interspersed with minute tufts of black
feathers ; eyes, yellowish-hazel ; bill and feet, horn colour.

"Compared with the female of the common Pheasant, the
hen of the present bird has all the markings much stronger,
and is altogether of a darker colour. She has the whole of
the upper surface very dark or blackish-brown, each feather
broadly edged with buff, passing in some of the feathers to a
chestnut hue ; those of the head, and particularly those of the
back, with a small oval deep spot, of deep glossy green close
to the tip ; primaries and secondaries, light brown, irregularly
barred with buff, and with bufify shafts ; tertiaries, dark
brown, broadly edged with buff on their inner webs, and

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

mottled with dull pale chestnut on their outer web, the edge
of which is buff; tail, dark brown, mottled with buff, and black
on the edges, and crossed by narrow irregular bands of buff,
bordered on either side with blotches of dark brown ; on the
lateral feathers the lighter edges nearly disappear, and the
bands assume a more irregular form ; throat, buff; all
the remainder of the under surface, buff, with a large
irregular arrow head-shaped mark near the top of each
feather; thighs, similar, but with dark mark nearly obsolete."

In the description given by Mr Gould, a reader will, I
think, admit that this eminent Naturalist has described the
plumage of the bird, not only with great accuracy, but in all
minutiae.

P. Versicolor is found throughout the whole of the
Japanese Islands, with one or two exceptions.

Elliot's description is embodied in the following words : —

" The male has the tip of the head, green ; ear-tufts,
shining-green ; throat and back, blue, with greenish reflec-
tions ; under parts green, with purple reflections upon the
neck and breast feathers, and the back and scapulars have
their centres black with two buff lines equidistant from
each other ; the margins, chestnut ; shoulders, bluish-grey ;
primaries, brown on the inner web, outer greyish, and
irregularly barred with whitish ; secondaries, chestnut, with
broad mark of buff in the centre, this mark mottled with
black on the outer web ; rump and upper tail coverts,
bluish-grey ; abdomen in centre and thighs, dark brown ;
tail, greenish-grey, the central feathers barred with black,
regular at base but becoming alternate towards the tip ;
edges of the feathers, purplish ; the black bars are similar
on the lateral feathers, and absent from the outer ones ;

THE JAPANESE PHEASANT

naked portions of face, crimson, dotted with minute black
feathers ; bill and feet, greenish.

"The female has the upper part of the head, blackish-
brown margined with light brown. Face, ears and chin,
white ■; ear coverts, reddish-brown ; neck, light rufous,
tipped with blackish-brown ; mantle, black, each feather
margined with light brown, and with green metallic spot
near the tip ; margin of rump feathers, reddish-brown ;
wings, brownish-black in the centres of the feathers, with
broad margins of yellowish-brown ; secondaries, rufous, the
outer webs mottled with black ; primaries, reddish-brown
crossed with irregular bars of light red ; breast and under
parts, light rufous brown, with a greenish shade in certain
lights, with blackish bars crossing the feathers at intervals ;
tail, rufous brown, crossed with bars of blackish-brown, the
edges greyish-brown, finely dotted with dark brown ; bill,
horn colour ; feet and legs, flesh colour."

CHAPTER X

Hagen beck's Pheasant {Phasianus Hagenbecki)

Hagenbeck's Pheasant is an extremely handsome species,
resembling in many respects the Chinese Pheasant (/*. Tor-
quatus), and is a native of the Kobdo Valley in North-west
Mongolia. There is every reason to believe that if these
birds were introduced into British game preserves, they
would cross with P. Colchiciis and produce hybrids precisely
allied to the ring-necked birds.

The length of the bird, as measured from beak to tip of
tail, is a little over a yard, and the average weight, 2>k '^^•
At the base of the neck there is a white collar, rather
broader than that in P. Torqiiatus. The crown is green, but
not the same olive-green as in the Chinese Pheasant. The
feathers on the back and rump have a creamy tint, with
transverse bands, similar to that in P. Torquatjis, though,
perhaps, of a more mottled character.

The lower wing coverts are a light grey, inclined to blue.
In addition to these distinctions, there are others of minor
importance most strikingly manifest when the two birds are
side by side. As the name implies, Hagenbeck's Pheasant
is called after Carl Hagenbeck, though it is rather singular
that such a useful species as this should not have been freely
imported into Great Britain, as it certainly is eminently
suited for introduction into British game preserves.

It should make a good cross with Mongolictis, yet the
introduction of so many different species into a covert is not a

HAGENBECK'S PHEASANT

system that can be advantageously employed. If Hagen-
beck's Pheasant were introduced into a covert, it would be
advisable to liberate paired birds, as there is always a desire
for birds of the same species to associate, better than with
those of an "allied" species.

CHAPTER XI

Hybrids and Hybridisation

Mongolian Hybrids
(See also Phasianus Mongolicus)

It is only during this last few years that the Mongolian
Pheasant has come so much to the front in the estimation of
British game-preservers. Previous to the introduction of
the Mongolian, the author believes that the ring-necked
Pheasant was the predominating bird in the coverts, and for
the introduction of fresh stock, pure bred specimens of the
Chinese Pheasant (/*. Torquatus) were relied upon, just as
the pure Mongolian (/*. Mongolicus) is used at the present
time.

The Mongolian Pheasant possesses distinct advantages
over both the Chinese and the Japanese for the production
of hybrids, either half or three-quarter bred. The Chinese
Pheasant has certainly proved its value so much, that it is
mainly responsible for the ring-necked Pheasants now widely
distributed throughout game preserves. When the Japanese
Pheasant was first of all used for crossing with the common
Pheasant, either as P. Colchicus or hybrids derived from the
latter and the Chinese, great expectations were anticipated,
and it certainly was a decided success, so far as the first
generation was concerned. Subsequent experiments, however,
have conclusively proved that the perpetuation of P. Versicolor
in succeeding generations has exercised a detrimental influence,

HYBRIDS AND HYBRIDISATION

and the author does not beHeve that anyone engaged in
raising Pheasants for the covert are any longer desirous of
using the Japanese Pheasant for such purposes. The beauty
of its plumage was, in a measure, responsible for the limited
popularity it enjoyed. Proof has been established, beyond
all question of doubt, that the vigorous nature of the
Mongolian Pheasant renders it unrivalled for establishing a
hardy and prolific sort of Pheasant for sport, and the more
widely its utility becomes known, the more eagerly it will be
sought after. Mongolian hybrids are as fertile, in fact more
so, than the common ring-necked birds, and it will be a
difficult matter to mention any material facts adverse to the
laudatory terms applicable to Mongolian Pheasants, either in
their pure or mixed states.

The production of hybrids is not, as a rule, a matter of
much difficulty, but two factors of paramount importance
have to be considered, and not only must they be considered
theoretically, but established by practical demonstration. It
is upon the demonstration of such facts that the true value of
hybridisation depends.

Fej'tility of the hybrid is an indispensable feature, it being
well known, in fact, part of the general law that sterility
frequently accompanies the production of the hybrid, either
of the first or succeeding generations, therefore it is useless
to utilise a cross that establishes this condition of affairs, and
it would be a difficult matter to find an instance where such
prejudicial effects could be more pronounced than in the
preservation of game.

None the less important is prolificacy and early maturity.

The production of eggs, either in or out of covert, or for that

matter in the aviary, constitutes one of the most valuable

assets in game-farming operations. There are many other

factors that have to be considered by the Pheasant-rearer,

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

which may be briefly summarised as follows : — (a) To maintain
a vigorous constitutional stamina ; (6) to produce birds that
are not only strong flyers, but possessed of a high degree
of flight ; and (c) to increase the beauty of the plumage as
well as the weight and size of the bird.

The edible qualities have also to be considered, fineness
in the grain of the flesh being to the epicure a most desir-
able feature. As the male parent usually predominates in
the production of soundness of constitution, hardihood and
physical development in other respects, it is advisable to
mate pure-bred Mongolian cocks with black-necked hens
(P. Colchicus), and the product of this generation will be, if
pure-bred birds have been used, a brood consisting of half
Mongolians and half Colchicus. If the hens of this genera-
tion are then mated with a pure Mongolian again, three-
quarter bred Mongolian generation is established, and finally
if this latter generation are again mated with a pure Mon-
golian, the product should be birds of the true Mongolian
type, the black-necked element having been finally bred out.
Theoretically the converse applies, when a Mongolian hen is
used, but the exclusion of type is less clearly defined in the
case of a female, therefore it is advisable to insure "fixity of
breed" by commencing on the male side. Individuality is
more lasting under these circumstances.

Although the Pheasant is a polygamous bird, it is not
advisable to allow him, either in the pheasantry or in a covert,
more than from five to eight wives, a proportion that should
be borne in mind when the cock birds are killed off at the
end of the shooting season, but it is not e.xpedient to deplete
the male stock too much. On the other hand, the old cock
bird will be a nuisance to the young ones in the spring, as
well as destroy the chances of successful later broods, by
harassing the hens. Moreover the old male birds often lead

HYBRIDS AND HYBRIDISATION

the young ones astray, so that what with amorous overtures
towards the hens, and the not infrequent damage to the
chicks, as well as establishing precedent towards straying, it
becomes the solemn duty of the keeper to see that his work is
not outwitted by the presence of too many male birds in the
coverts. Some keepers make a practice of catching up the
young cock birds in sufficient number, and keeping these in
pens until satisfied that they have made a clean sweep of
surplus male birds. When this has been done the penned
cock birds are released, and in doing so, it is necessary to
let the birds go into the same coverts from which they were
originally taken, otherwise the object in view will probably
be defeated.

It is customary now on many game preserves to turn down
a few Reeves' cocks and hens in order to improve the plumage
of the birds in the coverts as well as the strength and speed
of flight, the Reeves' Pheasant being one of the most remark-
able birds when on the wing.

A good deal of discussion has taken place concerning the
fertility or otherwise of Reeves' hybrids, and the matter must
still be considered as sub jiidice. The Reeves are certainly
beautiful birds, and they will hybridise not only with other
members of the same genus [Phasianus), but with those
belonging to other genera, such as that of Tkaumalea,
Euplocanms, etc. It is not advisable, in the author's opinion,
in view of the uncertain fertility of the hybrid, to introduce
many Reeves' into the coverts, excepting in game preserves
in mountainous localities, where the trees are tall, and the
birds have practically an unlimited range of flight — ideal con-
ditions for Reeves' Pheasants to exist in.

In the aviary, the production of hybrids having magnifi-
cent plumage, though sterile, has not the significance attach-
able to the covert bird, or at anyrate, such as are expressly

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

bred for sport. A cross not uncommonly resorted to is that
between P. Mongolicus and P. Versicolor, in other words the
MongoHan and the Japanese Pheasants are mated, the pro-
duct being hybrids both fertile and vigorous, though not
equal to that of the Mongolian and Colchic species.

Hybrids
The Ring-Necked Pheasant

At the present time this hybrid is the commonest in the
British game preserves, and has been produced by a com-
bination of the Chinese Pheasant i^P. Torquatus) and the
black-necked Pheasant {P. Co/chictis). It is a very prolific
hybrid, and breeds true to type. On many preserves it has
been crossed with the pure Mongolian (/*. Mongolicus), and
this has had a salutary effect. The result of this will be in
the majority of preserves. Pheasants one third P. Colchicus,
another third P. Torquatus, and the remainder P. Mongolicus,
a regular triple hybrid, nevertheless by no means despisable
birds.

Macgillivray in vol. i. of British Birds, in speaking of the
ring-necked Pheasant, says :

" The proportions of the parts are precisely the same as
in the common Pheasant. The Tarsi have about seventeen
scales in each of their anterior series. The first toe has
five, the second nine, the third twenty, the fourth seventeen
scutella. The spur is conical, blunt, and four-twelfths of an
inch long.

" The feathers of the upper part of the head are oblong
and blended ; of the rest of the head and the upper part of
the neck, imbricated and rounded ; of the fore-neck and breasts,

HYBRIDS AND HYBRIDISATION

broad, slightly emarginate or abruptly rounded ; of the back,
broad and rounded ; of the rump, elongate with loose fila-
ments ; of the sides, very long ; of the abdomen, downy ; of
the legs, soft and rather short. There is the same tuft of
small feathers over the ear. The wings and tail are precisely
similar, even to the concavity of the extremities of the longer
feathers of the latter.

"The bill is horn colour, or greyish-yellow, tinged with
green ; the nasal operculum, flesh colour. The iris is yellow,
and the bare papillar space about the eye, crimson.

"The upper part of the head is brownish-green, the fore-
head, sides and tuft, deep green. The upper part of the neck
is deep blue, glossed with purple and green, the latter pre-
dominating behind. At the lower edge of this dark-coloured
part is a white band, extending along two-thirds of the
circumference of the neck, narrow behind, broader at the two
anterior extremities. This band is composed of white tips
only. The rest of the fore-part of the neck is of a rich
coppery tint, glossed with purple in some lights, fading below
into brownish-yellow, of which colour also are the sides. On
the neck and breast each feather has a terminal marein of
purplish-blue, which in some lights is black. This margin is
distinctly indented, but the emargination gradually disappears
on the lower feathers. The middle and lower part of the
breast is blackish-brown, glossed with green. The fore-part
of the back is yellowish-red, each feather slightly margined
with black, and having a central oblong spot of the same.
The scapulars are redder, with a slight black tip, the central
part dull yellow mottled with dusky, and margined with a
black band. The hind part of the back is confusedly varie-
gated with yellowish-red and green. The feathers of the
rump are of a deep red at the ends, variegated with green
tints. The tail feathers have the shaft dusky, the central

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

part dull greenish-yellow, with transverse black bars, exterior
to which is a broad longitudinal band of dull red, then the
broad loose margin, glossed with green and purple. The
lateral feathers are gradually more mottled with black. The
upper wing coverts are dull yellow, the inner edged with dull
red ; the quills, wood-brown tinged with grey, barred with
greyish-yellow ; their coverts similar.

" The esophagus is 9 inches long. The crop commences at
4 inches from the top. The stomach is 2j inches long.
The intestine 6 feet 6 inches ; of which the duodenal portion
is II, the rectum 6. The caeca are 16^^ inches long, their
greatest diameter If, their extremity obtuse.

" Length to end of tail, 35 inches ; extent of wings, 32 ;
bill along the back, i j ; along the edge of the lower mandible,
1 3^ ; tarsus, 3 ; first toe, ^^, its claw, 3 J twelfths ; second toe,
I J, its claw, 5 J twelfths ; third toe, 2, its claw, ^ ; fourth toe,
2, its claw, j^.

" Length of another individual, 35 inches ; wing from
flexure, loj; tail, 2o|- ; bill along the back, i^^; along the
edge of the lower mandible, ly^ ; tarsus, 2| ; first toe, ^, its
claw, -^-^ ; second toe, i j\, its claw, 5|- twelfths ; third toe, 2 j,
its claw,y^7j ; fourth toe, i^, its claw, -f^ ; spur, \.

"The female of this variety I am unable to distinguish
from that of the other or common kind.

" There is before me at present an individual in all respects
similar to that above described, only that the ring is reduced
to a slight spot on each side of the neck, four or five feathers
there having a white tip. Were these five feathers pulled out,
there would be no difference between it and the common
bird.

"In general the common ringless Pheasant has the colours
somewhat deeper than the ringed variety ; but in both kinds
there are slitrht variations in the colouring. Individuals

HYBRIDS AND HYBRIDISATION

speckled or patched with white are not uncommon ; others
entirely white are sometimes seen. A more beautiful variety
is that which has been named the Bohemian Pheasant, which,
like the ring-necked, may be considered as a distinct race.
All the races and varieties breed together, and the produce is
equally prolific, a fact which of itself is sufficient to prove
their specific identity."

Phasianus Principalis Hybrids

The Prince of Wales Pheasant has been crossed with the
black-necked, and the birds resulting from this cross are
very beautiful in their plumage, and particularly sharp on the
wing, but as P. Pruicipali is undersized when compared with
P. Mongolicus, it follows that the hybrids are smaller, and this
loss of size is an important item to the Pheasant-raiser, to the
sportsman, but above all to the game-dealer and the public.

Principalis hybrids are very prolific layers, but their eggs
are rather small, as might be expected. It is a hardy hybrid,
but the author believes that all game-rearers will agree with
him that it is distincdy inferior, in nearly every respect, to the
Mongolicus hybrids. P. Principalis would be better crossed
with pure Mongolian hens, or perhaps what would be more
advantageous, would be to mate a pure Mongolian cock with
a Prince of Wales hen. This would, to a certain extent,
diminish the tendency towards the reduction in size of the
birds, as physical development is more likely to be perpetu-
ated on the male side. The pure black-necked Pheasant
rather favours reduction in size, and this is augmented by
using P. Principalis on the male side.

The Prince of Wales Pheasant is by no means an un-
satisfactory bird in the covert, whilst it has certain qualities

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

which recommend its introduction. For instance, it will
correct any tendency towards sluggishness of the birds on
the wing, being, as previously stated, a particularly sharp bird
in this respect. It possesses no objectionable qualities, and
when a species of Pheasant is free from such, there can be
nothing against its introduction into a covert.

Versicolor Hybrids

It is not necessary to say very much concerning Japanese
Pheasant hybrids, as the matter has already been considered
when speaking of P. Versicolor in the chapter devoted to
this bird. This species of Pheasant as a hybrid with
ColchicHs, or even for the production of hybrids from the
common ring-necked birds, is by the majority of Pheasant-
raisers regarded as a failure.

As stated elsewhere, it is not wanted in the coverts,
and any qualities that it does confer are of too evanescent a
character to justify one to encourage its usage. Whatever
can be done with it must be in association with a strong
stock of Mongolians.

Albino and Pied Pheasants

In the coverts it is not at all uncommon to shoot birds
with white feathers freely interspersed amongst the rest of
the plumage, but the degree of such albinism varies con-
siderably from a mere sprinkling to one of complete trans-
formation, though pure white birds are certainly uncommon
in the coverts, unless introduced from without. Importers
of game birds supply Albino Pheasants, and many gentlemen
purchase several pairs of these birds for turning down in the

HYBRIDS AND HYBRIDISATION

game preserves, in order to introduce a pied variety into their
preserves. Considering the number of Albino Pheasants that
are supplied by dealers in live game birds, the inference is
that a permanent white race has been established, but for
what reason it is difficult to estimate. White Pheasants are
poor layers, not particularly hardy, and their eggs frequently
infertile. Pied cock birds are more liable to perpetuate the
pied plumage than the hens, and there is no doubt that the
common ring-necked Pheasant, when mated with a white
bird, or with a pied one for that matter, has a better chance
of producing pied offspring than in the case of a pure bird
such as P. Colchicus.

Reversions to original plumage are of common occur-
rence, and it is impossible to lay down any established law
that will guide one in the production of pied birds, or
even of albinos.

The assumption of what may be regarded as strictly
winter plumage, either in a partial or complete manner, is
common to many species of both winged and ground game,
likewise to some vermin, being obviously developed for
protection, by harmonising with the snow.

Typical examples are afforded by the Mountain Hare,
the Ptarmigan, the Ermin, and certain other members of the
Mustelida;. Albinism is the converse of melanism, in which
the plumage assumes an intense blackness. In animals,
deafness is frequently associated with albinism.

CHAPTER XII

The Formosan Ring-necked Pheasant
i^Phasiamis Formosanus)

This species inhabits the Island of Formosa, where the birds
are numerous. In many of its features it strongly resembles
P. Torquatus, but differs from this in the paleness of its
ground colour ; moreover the margins of the feathers have
a deep border of a purplish green.

Stone's Pheasant [Phasianus Elegans)

Mr Stone sent two specimens of this species to the
Zoological Society's Gardens, which he obtained in the
Yun-ling Mountains. The male bears a resemblance to
the hybrids produced from Colchicus and Versicolor, whilst
the female has the upper part of the throat and neck white,
the under parts of the body in front having irregular black
bars. The chest, breast and sides of the belly are a very
dark green, and the medium wing-coverts, greenish-grey.

The Chinese Ringless Pheasant [Phasianus Decollaius)

As the name of this species implies, it is destitute of the
white ring, so characteristic of the allied species P. Torquatus,
and the crown of the head is a very dark green, and not
bronze-green, as in the true ring-necked Pheasant. In some

THE FORMOSAN RING-NECKED PHEASANT

instances traces of a white ring are found, thus bringing
the two species now under consideration into very close
touch with one another.

The ringless Pheasant is found in Western China from
Western Yunnan to Southern Shensi, eastwards to the
ShinHng Mountains and westward to Quei-Choo, where it
inhabits the grassy slopes on the sides of the mountains.

CHAPTER XIII

Barred-backed Pheasant

The Pheasants belonging to this class are closely allied
to those of the genus Phaiiamis, the essential difference
being the black-and-white " bars " on the lower portion of
the back and the rump, and there are only sixteen feathers
in the tail instead of eighteen, as in P. Colchiczis.

Only two species are recognised, viz., Elliot's and
Hume's.

Elliot's Pheasant {PhaManus Ellioti)

It is to the credit of Consul Swinhoe that this species
of Pheasant was first discovered, he having found these
birds inhabiting the mountainous locality of the Province
of Che-Kiang.

The nomadical nature of Elliot's Pheasants is against
the introduction of this variety into British game preserves,
though it has been introduced.

The length of the male bird is about ^iZ inches, and
the feathers of wings, shoulders and breast, are bronze-red.
Extending across each wing- are two white bands. The
feathers of the belly are white, and those of the rump
black. Tail feathers barred with grey and black.

The female is a light drab, with mottling and bars of
black.

BARRED-BACKED PHEASANT

Hume's Pheasant (Calophasis Humice)

Hume's Pheasant inhabits the mountainous portions of
Manipur (especially about the streams), Lushai and the
Chin Hills, extending through the Kamhow Territory into
Eastern Lushai.

The feathers of the chest and neck are steel blue, with
purple reflections, and belly and flanks chestnut, and the
breast feathers same colour with reddish margins. Tail
barred with chestnut and black.

This species of Pheasant was first described by Mr
Hume, who obtained both a living and dead specimen during
his travels in the East.

CHAPTER XIV

The Golden Pheasant {Thau7nalea Picta)

The Golden Pheasant, belonging to the genus Thaumalea,
species Picta, is a most beautiful variety, and one that is
highly esteemed for the aviary, being hardy and thriving
well in confinement.

These Pheasants are natives of the Western Central
Districts of China, and were well known during the time
of Linnaeus (1766); in fact, this eminent Naturalist gave
a description of these birds, though evidently unaware that
they were indigenous to Eastern Europe. Goldsmith, in
his History of the Earth and Animated Nature, refers to
the Golden Pheasant under the name of Phasianus Pictus,
to which genus neither the Golden or the Amherst Pheasants
belong, but exclusively to that of Thaiima/ea, characterised
by the presence of a "Crest" or "Circlet" of feathers,
proceeding from the top of the head, and pointing back-
wards, and also by a " Tippet " encircling the neck along
the upper border and sides.

Being a hardy variety, the Golden Pheasant does very
well reared in outdoor aviaries, or for that matter, it thrives
well under the same conditions as the Phasianus Colchicus
(Common Pheasant), and the young birds are as able to
forage for themselves quite as freely as any other species
of gallinaceous birds.

Although the male birds have such gorgeous plumage,
the hens are exceedingly plain in appearance, a rule that
invariably exists throughout bird life.

THE GOLDEN PHEASANT

The plumage of the male consists, as previously mentioned,
of a " Crown " or crest of orange-coloured feathers, and a
tippet of bright orange red, arranged like a frill, and what
corresponds to the margin of each frill, is encircled by bluish
markings, almost bordering on black. To arrest the atten-
tion of the female bird, this collar expands, being displayed
laterally as circumstances necessitate.

The development of the complemental plumage and its
conspicuous display, constitutes a feature of particular interest
amongst birds, both domesticated and otherwise.

At the base of the neck, following the feathers composing
the tippet, the feathers have a ground substance of green
coloration, with a deeper colour around the margins, form-
ing a marked contrast with the brilliant yellow feathers of
the back, and crimson ones covering the scapular, or shoulder
bones. Beneath the body and covering the breast, the
feathers are a combination of scarlet and orange, but on
the throat, light brown. The tail is exceedingly graceful,
and consists of long feathers, some of which are spotted,
others barred, the upper tail coverts being an admixture
of orange and crimson. It is impossible to conceive anything
handsomer than a cock Golden Pheasant in full plumage, so
that one need hardly wonder why these birds are held in
such high esteem by fanciers.

When Golden Pheasants are kept in outdoor runs they
should be pinioned, which is preferably done when the birds
are about a month or six weeks old. To do this, take each
bird in the hand, spread out the wing, and remove a portion,
preferably to include the first joint, and a little above it,
which prevents flight to any height beyond several feet.
Any slight bleeding that occurs is of no practical importance,
but to heal the wound touch it with a little compound
Tincture of Benzoin.

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

The Golden Pheasant is naturally a shy bird, easily
frightened, and has a disposition to revert to its wild instinct,
which, once acquired, is very difficult to wean it from, in
fact almost impossible ; therefore birds intended for the
aviary must, as previously stated, be pinioned.

The aviary should be provided with nests for the hens,
which produce a variable number of eggs, according whether
young or old birds. A young hen usually lays about one
dozen eggs in a single season, whereas an older one will
produce from twenty-five to thirty-five or forty eggs, and the
incubative period is three weeks and three days (domestic fowl,
twenty-one days). Although Golden Pheasants do very well
when hatched by artificial means, the birds are stronger when
brought forth under the care of a broody hen, or a combination
of the natural and artificial methods may be employed. The
eggs can be placed in the incubator for the first twenty-one
days, and the incubative period then completed under a hen,
or perhaps what is still better, the eggs may be placed under
a hen for twenty-one days and the hatching process then
completed in an incubator. All eggs should be removed from
the aviary as soon as laid, otherwise the birds will probably
acquire vicious habits. Regarding the number of hens to be
allowed for each male bird, most authorities are agreed that
from four to six is quite sufficient. It is a mistake to breed
stock from one-year-old hens, the second season being the
best for the production of vigorous birds ; moreover, early
mating is not necessary in the case of fancy Pheasants.

The cock birds do not assume their attractive plumage
until they have moulted in the second summer, which is the
best evidence one can have, as afforded by nature, as to the
physical fitness of the birds for mating purposes. The best
food for the broods consists of either ants' eggs, or maggots,
in conjunction with maize-meal, barley, or wheat - meal

THE GOLDEN PHEASANT

(previously scalded with boiling water), and hard-boiled
eggs, chopped up very fine. Such vegetables as lettuce,
spinach, turnip-tops, cress, or other green food given in the
same manner, are invaluable adjuncts as food for young
Pheasants. A question that naturally presents itself to the
mind of a thoughtful reader is, " What shall the first meal
be composed of?" Some advocate soft food only, others
advocate dry feeding. If the former plan be followed, the
eggs must be boiled until they are quite hard, and as soon
as cold, the shell removed, the contents broken up into a
finely divided state, and subsequently mixed with double
the quantity of scalded meal, such as biscuit meal, stale
bread, barley, maize or wheat, the chief secret being to
prepare the food freshly each time, as there is nothing
more pernicious than fermenting or sour food.

The addition of a little sweet milk will be found advan-
tageous. Whatever meals are used, they must be well scalded,
so as to swell the particles of meal. Pheasant chicks do
not require any food for the first twenty-four hours, there
being sufficient nourishment absorbed by the chick, im-
mediately before it breaks through the shell, to last it for the
time specified ; in fact some Pheasant-rearers don't give the
birds any food until the youngsters are at least twenty-four
hours old, and the young birds generally do quite as well,
if not better, than those supplied with food earlier do.

The birds must be protected against their many foes,
and the best plan of doing so is to keep each coop enclosed
in a wire run, various portable forms of which are on the
market, and can be obtained for a comparatively small sum
of money.

As in the case of all other young birds, the advisability
of placing the coops on ground where there is plenty of
insect life is a matter of the utmost importance, and must

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

never be lost sight of. Adult male birds agree very well,
and will live in perfect harmony when kept apart from
the hens ; therefore anyone contemplating keeping Golden
Pheasants for the beauty of their plumage, can safely
purchase a number of cock birds to live in the same aviary,
and the most suitable food for both those and the hens
is maize (bruised), barley, oats, wheat, etc., and the birds
should be fed three or four times daily, with a little warm
food in winter.

It is better not to provide perches for the young birds
until they are at least three months old, but adult birds,
likewise young ones, after the period specified, must have
suitable perches placed well apart, so that they will not
damage the plumage of one another, which they are very
apt to do, if allowed to roost too close together. 1

Hybrids have been produced from Golden and common
Pheasants, but it would appear that the product of the
cross has nothing to recommend it, whilst it has the reputa-
tion of drawing other birds from the covert, a feature of
the most objectionable kind, nevertheless one that is of
paramount importance to the practical Pheasant-raiser.

Typical specimens of Golden Pheasants, in perfect
plumage, can be obtained for about fifty shillings per pair,
others in a less perfect state for forty shillings per pair, but
a good deal will depend on circumstances, as the author
has had magnificent birds offered to him for very much
less than the prices quoted.

To preserve the beauty of the plumage, it is necessary
to adopt measures, in the aviary, to prevent the birds from
sudden fright, especially at night-time. This can be done
by arranging blinds of thick green holland, so that the whole
of the interior of the aviary will be in complete darkness,
even during the brightest nights. The screens can be fixed

THE GOLDEN PHEASANT

to hooks, above and below, which will prevent the sheets
from flopping about during a windy night.

Elliot, in his valuable Monograph on the Pheasant, describes
Tha2imalea Picta as follows ; and it will be noted that the
description given is a very accurate one, coinciding with what
one finds actually exists in typical specimens of the species : —

" One of the longest known species of Pheasant, but it
still retains its position as one of the most beautiful. Early
introduced into Europe from China, its native country, it is
familiar to everyone, and no bird is more suited, both as
regards its gentle disposition, and strong contrasting colours
of plumage, to become an inhabitant of the aviary. It breeds
readily in confinement, and the chicks are not difficult to rear,
but grow rapidly. Nothing is more beautiful than to see a
number of these birds scattered about upon a lawn, their
active movements executed with much grace, while their
scarlet breasts appear to great advantage against the bright
green grass. The ruff of the male is capable of considerable
extension, and when paying his addresses to the female, he
is accustomed to draw it entirely over the side of his face
which is nearest to her."

Mr Swinhoe has furnished the following facts regarding
this species : —

" T. Picta is found in the provinces of Hoonan, Kweichou,
Yunnan, S.W. Hooper and S.E. Szechuna. It is very
common about the mountains near Ichang, and is brought
from thence to the Hankow market. Europeans have shot
it near the banks of the Yangtse, lOO miles north of
Hankow. It is taken to Canton and exposed in the bird
shops for sale. Those offered are nearly always males, and

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

wild captures. The Chinese do not offer to hunt them in
captivity. A different species of cross is met with in Japan,
wanting the spots on the tail, and with darker ruff and
blackened chin and throat. I could not ascertain whether
this was wild in Japan. It may have been introduced there
from China in former years, and altered in the course of time.
The Japanese breed Pheasants and produce strange crosses.
I saw a bird of very curious appearance at Yokohama,
which looked to me like a hybrid between Silver and
Gold Pheasants. I also saw in the shops P. Torquatus, but
I believe the examples of these were lately brought from
China."

The black-throated bird referred to above by Mr Swinhoe
has been described as distinct, which it appears to be, as it
presents many differences from the present species in all
stages of plumage. When at Antwerp lately, I saw a male,
T. Amhersiice, which was mated with a female, T. Picta, and
six eggs were the result. Whether they will prove fertile or
not remains to be seen, but a cross between these species
could not be otherwise than beautiful.

Of the habits of this species we know absolutely nothing,
collectors appearing satisfied with obtaining so charming a bird,
without paying any particular attention to its mode of living.

Pere David writes in the Zoological Proceedings for 1 868 : —

" That the T. Picta is unknown in the North of China, and
that without doubt it is an error to state that the bird is
found in Dauria. It is more probably an inhabitant of the
mountains in the centre of China and further westwards in
the same latitude."

The male of this beautiful species has the tip of the head
and the occiput covered with a long silky amber-coloured

THE GOLDEN PHEASANT

crest, and extensive ruff, springing from the back of the head
hiding the neck. The feathers of this ornamental appendage
are deep orange red, with a dark blue bar at the tip, and can
be stretched out and brought over the face at will ; mantle,
deep green, tipped with velvety black ; scapulars, dark
crimson ; primaries, brown, with a line of buff on the outer
web ; terminal portions of shaft, buff ; secondaries, deep
brown, mottled with chestnut ; tertiaries, rich blue ; back
and rump, golden yellow ; throat, bright rufous brown, rest
of the under parts scarlet ; upper tail coverts (very long
and narrow), crimson ; tail, very long, the two centre feathers,
rich rufous brown, covered with irregular circles of blackish-
brown, giving to them the appearance of being spotted with
buffy brown. The rest of the tail feathers diagonally crossed
with dark brown. All the tail feathers are buff at their tips ;
below, greenish-yellow ; feet and tarsi, pale green.

Female. — Head and back of neck, blackish-brown, barred
near the tips with yellowish-brown ; upper part of back,
blackish-brown, barred with rufous and tipped with greyish-
brown ; wings, black crossed with bars of light yellowish-
brown, and dotted with black ; primaries, blackish crossed
on inner webs with chestnut, on outer with yellowish ; under
parts, buff, barred on chin, breasts, and thighs with blackish ;
middle tail feathers, black, barred irregularly with yellowish-
brown ; outer tail feathers, chestnut, crossed with fine black
lines, at intervals of half an inch, the outer edges mottled
with black ; bill, horn colour ; feet and legs, flesh colour.

CHAPTER XV

The Amherst Pheasant ( Thauvia/ea Amherstid)

(The Flower Pheasant)

This is a very beautiful species, in many of its features closely
allied to that of the Golden Pheasant, with which it forms an
admirable hybrid, excelling in beauty of plumage that of either
the Amherst or the Golden ; and anyone interested in the
breeding- of Pheasants cannot do better than mate these two
species together, and hybrids thus produced are perfecdy
fertile, which is exactly what one would expect, when two
birds belonging to the same genus, though of a different
species, are mated together.

The Amherst Pheasant is, however, a most useful addition
to the coverts, improving as it does the brilliancy of the
plumage of the common Pheasant. The first pair of birds
of this species introduced into Great Britain were brought
over from India by Lady Amherst, to whom they were given
by Sir Archibald Campbell. This was about 1828, but it was
not until 1869 that these birds were imported into the
Zoological Society's Gardens, at Regent's Park, where they
bred freely in the aviaries. Subsequendy other birds were
imported by Mr Stone, and the result has been that Amherst
Pheasants are not at all uncommon in the aviaries of Pheasant
farms ; likewise in many coverts.

In its native haunts the Amherst Pheasant is said to be
most abundant about the rocks of desolate mountains, and
that it prefers to inhabit these localities, in preference to
forests. It is a slightly larger bird than the Golden Pheasant,

THE AMHERST PHEASANT

and one of its chief characteristics is a white tippet, the feathers
of which have a marginal dark-greenish band, with a
secondary band narrower than the first one. The skin of
the face is Hght blue, and the feathers of the forehead green,
whilst those which form the crest are a brilliant combination
of orange and scarlet. The wing coverts, the back, breast,
shoulders, front of the neck are metallic green, whereas the
lower portions of the breast and belly are white. Tail coverts
have green and white stripes down the middle with scarlet tips
and brown bases. The two upper middle tail feathers are
laced. The legs and feet blue. The hen is a deep chestnut
brown, barred with a darker brown, and in many respects
similar to that of the Golden Pheasant.

A peculiarity about the Amherst Pheasants when living
in coverts is that the birds of this species keep together, and
quite apart from the other Pheasants ; yet in spite of this
fact, the Amherst will, as previously stated, breed with the
common Pheasant.

Although the account given by Gould in vol. vii. of his
Birds of Asia is to some extent obsolete, the fundamental
facts nevertheless remain true ; therefore the author thinks
it advisable to quote what Mr Gould says in the volume
alluded to : —

"This very remarkable member of the Phasianus was
brought into notice first time in 1828 by the late Mr Benjamin
Leadbeater, who in a paper read by him at a meeting of the
Linnsean Society of London, on the 2nd December of that
year, stated that the return of His Excellency, the Right
Honourable Earl Amherst, from India, has made us
acquainted with one of the most splendid examples of the
eenus Phasianus that has been submitted to the notice of
ornithologists for many years past.

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

"Two males of this species came originally from the
mountains of Cochin China, and were presented by the King
of Ava to Sir Archibald Campbell, who gave them to the
Countess Amherst. Her Ladyship retained them in her
possession about two years, and ultimately succeeded in
bringing them to England alive, but they only survived the
voyage a few weeks.

" The general character of this bird and the arrangement
of its plumage are similar to those of the Golden Pheasant.
When Lady Amherst brought home the two specimens from
which Mr Leadbeater's characters were taken, nothing certain
was known of their history, of the locality where they came
from, or of the country of which they were natives, and the
time that has elapsed has not enabled us to acquire this very
desirable information. It is now, however, believed that the
bird is an inhabitant of the Chinese province of Yunnan, and
the adjoining regions of Thibet. It is seen how Lady
Amherst became possessed of her two specimens. One which
was presented to Mr Leadbeater by Lady Amherst passed
into the possession of the late Earl of Derby, and now forms
part of the vast collection bequeathed by his Lordship to the
town of Liverpool.

" Mr B. H. Hodgson, formerly a British resident ifi Nepaul,
who was well known for his devotion to natural history,
obtained two specimens, which had been brought into
Napaulese territory from some distant country. They are
now in the British Museum, and two more have, I believe,
been sent to Paris. The six specimens enumerated, all of
which are males, are probably all that have yet been collected.
It would be my great pleasure to see a female of this fine
bird, and every ornithologist would be truly grateful by the
arrival of any information respecting the part of the Celestial
Empire in which it dwells, and as to its habits. The bird

THE AMHERST PHEASANT

would doubtless be as easily kept in our aviaries as its known
ally the Golden Pheasant, and it is my urgent wish to see
it thus located before I leave this lower world for the higher
and brighter one that is the end of all our hopes and desires.
" I rides, white ; naked skin surrounding the eyes, light
verditer blue ; feathers of the crown, green, crossed with
crimson ; pendant tippet, white, each feather tipped with a
narrow crescentic dark green tone, with an edging of a lighter
tint, and a straight point of the same kind about | of an inch
from the tip ; neck, back, shoulders, chest and wing coverts,
beautiful metallic green, each feather tipped with a broad zone of
velvety black ; primaries, dark brown, with lighter shafts and
white edgings ; greater wing coverts and secondaries, bluish-
black ; breast and tail, white ; thighs and under-tail coverts,
mottled brown and white ; legs, light blue ; feathers of the
rump, brown at the base, green in the middle, and the exposed
portion, bright saffron yellow ; tail coverts, brown at base,
barred with green and white in the middle, and ending in
scarlet ; two broad middle tail feathers, olive grey, crossed
with bars of green, about f of an inch apart, between which
are a series of oblique wavy lines of a blackish-brown.
Remaining feathers have the inner web narrow and mottled
with black and white ; the outer web, with curved brownish-
green bars, about f of an inch apart, on a ground the inner
portion of which is greyish-white, the outer chestnut brown."

CHAPTER XVI

The Silver Pheasant [Enp/ocaimis Nyctkemerus)

The Silver Pheasant belongs to the genus Nycthemerus, and
like that of the Golden, Amherst and certain other birds,
does not belong to the Pheasants proper, although it is
customary to regard it as a species of Pheasant. Its handsome
appearance renders it a desirable acquisition to the aviary,
provided it can be kept apart from the other inmates,
because its pugnacious proclivities prevent it from being
suitable to associate with other members of the aviary.

It is sometimes spoken of as the Silver Kalage Pheasant,
the White Chinese Pheasant, the White Fowl, Silver Fowl,
etc. This bird was referred to by Albin in 1738, and by
Edwards in 1751, being spoken of by Linnaeus under the
technical term of Phasiamis Nycthemerus. It is indigenous
to the mountain ranges of Southern China, Fo-kien and
Che-kang, but being a very hardy species, there is not the
slightest trouble experienced in rearing the Silver Pheasant
in confinement ; consequendy it is very common in British
aviaries. It is only in exceptional instances that these birds
are found in British coverts, into which it is a most undesirable
acquisition, as it not only drives the other birds out of the
preserves, but its manner of flight is so low that it is
practically useless for sporting purposes.

The Silver Pheasant is easily tamed, but during the
mating season it develops vicious qualities not only towards
other birds but also towards human beings, which it is liable

THE SILVER PHEASANT

to attack in a most determined manner, and may do serious
harm unless its spurs have been removed. The huge
development of the spurs renders it particularly dangerous
in this respect, so that if it is necessary to keep it amongst
fowls, etc., it is better to remove the spurs.

As previously stated, the male bird is particularly hand-
some, whilst the female is a much bigger and finer bird
than those belonging to either of the genera Tliaumalea
or Phasiamis.

The leading characteristics of the Kalage Pheasants are
the presence of a long hairy crest, laterally compressed tail
feathers, and the long spurs. In the male bird the crest is
composed of numerous long, fine purple feathers, covering
the crown of the head, and projecting backwards about half-
way down the neck. The beak is a light horn colour, the
upper mandible being very strong, hooked, and projecting
about \ of an inch below the lower one. The skin of
the face and wattles is crimson, and most brilliant during the
pairing season. The feathering on the back and upper part
of the neck, as well as that immediately behind the cheeks, is
almost pure white, excepting in front of the throat, where it is
purplish-black, and continuous with that of the breast and
under parts of the body.

The feathers on the back of the neck are very finely pencilled,
the lines radiating obliquely, the colour of the markings being
brownish-black. It is the beauty of these dark markings on
a white ground - work that confers the silvery aspect so
characteristic of these Pheasants. The markings of the
feathers on the back are broader.

A peculiarity is the presence of some white-shafted
feathers on the sides of the breast. The wing coverts have
longitudinal, sinuous, dark markings, extending from base
to apex, whilst the markings on the quill feathers are

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

arranged obliquely, each one being fairly broad, but less
distinct on the surface of the under wing.

There are a pair of central, laterally compressed, very
long tail feathers, pure white, and on either side of these,
seven other tail feathers, each with pencilling corresponding
to that of the feathers on the back.

The feathers of the breast, sides, thighs and under part
of the body are blackish-purple, emitting a purple reflection.
Legs and feet, red, with a sharply pointed spur, about an
inch in length.

Length of the shank ( Tibio- Tarsus) is a trifle over 3 inches,
thickness \\ inches. The total length of the bird about 36
inches; length of tail about 20 inches; girth, 15 inches, as
measured beneath wings, but outside wings, 18 inches.

In general build the female is distinctly massive and
altogether bigger than Colchictis. There are sixteen tail
feathers, there being four central dark-brown ones of about
equal length, and on either side six feathers, with blackish-
brown markings, the brown colour predominating.

The quills are chocolate brown, with the primaries and
secondaries a light buffy brown, corresponding to that of the
general body colour, which is much lighter on the breast, sides
and thio'hs, but each feather is studded over with minute
brownish-black spots, corresponding to those of the male,
though the markings are disguised by the prevailing brown
colour.

The throat is of a lighter brown. The legs are red, and
the spurs very rudimentary. Length from tip of tail to point
of beak, 26 inches; girth outside the wings, 16^ inches;
girth inside wings, 13 inches; girth round thighs, i,\ inches;
length of central tail feathers, 10 inches.

The crest is of a much deeper brown, and only about half
the length of that of the male bird.

THE SILVER PHEASANT

In concluding the description of the Silver Pheasant it is
necessary to add that these birds vary somewhat in size,
especially the hen, but as a rule the average measurements
are those given by the author.

Concerning prices, a cock and hen can usually be bought
for about a guinea, whilst the average number of eggs
produced by the hen is from ten to fourteen, and the hens are
good sitters and good mothers. The Tibio- Tarsal bones are
much finer in the female than in the male, and the leg scales
smaller. Under surface of the feet, white.

CHAPTER XVII
The Argus Pheasant

The Argus Pheasant is an extremely handsome variety
and one that constitutes an adornment to any aviary, as the
plumage of the birds is of a most gorgeous character when
displayed. Specimens can be seen in the Zoological Society's
Gardens, Regent's Park, where the birds have bred in
confinement. It is a native of North-west Borneo, likewise
of Siam and Malacca.

There are really two species of Argus Pheasants, a large
one [Argus Giganteus) and a small one {Argus Grayi), the
prefix "Argus" being derived from the ocelli or eye-like
spots on the secondary feathers of the wings, which are not
visible when the wing is closed.

According to accounts given by the late Mr William
Davison and others, these birds, in their native haunts, are
extremely shy, it being almost impossible to shoot them,
though they can be captured by snares. When in captivity
they become very tame, readily adapting themselves to their
new conditions, though they have a tendency, on being
released from confinement, to revert to their old desire for
seclusion.

The total length of the Great Argus Pheasant is nearly
6 feet, this being mainly due to the extraordinary length
of the tail, which is almost 4 feet. The skin covering
the face and neck, or rather a portion of the latter, is quite
destitute of feathers, but of an intense blue colour. Although

THE ARGUS PHEASANT

the plumage has a variety of shades upon it, the bulk of
it is either brown or yellowish-red, over which are dis-
tributed a number of small spots, darker or lighter than the
ground colour. The large spots are arranged in regular
rows on the secondary feathers, close to the front border
of the shaft of the feathers, so that when the bird is
displaying its plumage the beauty of these spots becomes
most obvious.

The ocelli or eye spots are mainly contributory in
enhancing the beauty of the plumage, and are displayed
to the best advantage during courtship. Each ocellus is
about I inch in diameter, and stands out like a ball lying
within a socket, looking as though the wing were possessed
of so many eyes. In each secondary feather there is about
a score of these eye spots which are confined to the male
bird, the plumage of the hen being very plain and darker,
whilst she is altogether smaller than the cock-bird.

The central pair of feathers of the tail, as previously
stated, are very long, and during display the apex of each
is turned outwards, the pair forming, as it were, a triangle.

The primary wing feathers are brown and covered with
black dots, more especially towards their apices and along
their front borders, but they are destitute of the ocelli. The
beautiful plumage of the male is unquestionably developed
for the purpose of attracting the female, as such is chiefly
displayed during courtship, and the harmonious blending
of the colours only becomes so strikingly manifest at this
particular period. When kept in the aviary the Argus
Pheasant must be protected from cold, so that it is necessary,
in the case of an outdoor aviary, to have canvas screens,
capable of being adjusted to suit the variable conditions
of the weather.

The author is not aware of any attempts having been

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

made to cross the Argus Pheasant with other varieties of
the Phasianidce, but it is quite possible that hybrids from
the Argus Pheasant could be produced, yet no advantage
would be likely to result from the production of such
hybrids.

Concerning the Great Argus Pheasant, Bowdler Sharpe,
in his Wo7tders of the Bird World, has the following
interesting account : —

" The Argus Pheasant of the Malay countries is one of
the most splendid birds in existence, and like its namesake
has indeed a ' hundred eyes.' The whole of the outer web
of the secondaries, which are, moreover, of enormous size,
is decorated with circular spots of white, yellow and rufous,
surrounded by a ring of black, and it is from these eye-like
spots that the bird gets its name. In captivity the Argus
often displays his wonderful plumage, much as the Peacock
exhibits his train for the admiration of the female, by throwing
up his wing and bringing it forward to the ground, so as
to display all the series of spots on the secondaries. The
late Mr William Davison, who explored Tenasserim for years
in pursuit of natural history specimens for the great Hume
Collection, has given the best and indeed the only account
of the habits of the Argus Pheasant with which I am
acquainted. One peculiarity about the bird's life is that
the males and females live apart, and the latter appear
to have no fixed residence, but wander about the forest,
only occasionally visiting the male bird in his 'drawing-
room,' as Mr Davison calls the playing-ground. The hen
bird, he was told, builds a rude nest in some dense cane-brake,
and lays seven or eight eggs like those of a domestic Turkey,
hatching them out and bringing up the nesdings without any
assistance from the male bird. The latter, in fact, appears

lOO

THE ARGUS PHEASANT

to be almost wholly devoted to the keeping of the drawing-
room in order, and is by no means of a quarrelsome
disposition. In some parts of Tenasserim the Argus
Pheasant is quite a common bird, and many males are found
inhabiting the same forest district. If a gun be fired, every-
one of the birds within hearing begins to call, and on any
alarm or excitement, such as a troop of monkeys passing
overhead, they immediately give vent to their note, which
sounds like ' how-how ! ' repeated ten or a dozen times. This
note is given out at short intervals when the male is in
its clearing, and is answered by every other male in the
vicinity. Mr Davison says that the female has quite a
different note, which sounds like ' how-owoo, how-owoo ! '
the last syllable much prolonged, repeated ten or a dozen
times, but getting more and more rapid, until it ends in a
series of ' owoos ' run together. The call-notes of both the male
and female Argus travel to an immense distance, that of the
former especially being heard at a distance of a mile or more.
"The 'drawing-room' consists of some open level spot,
sometimes chosen down in a dark, gloomy ravine, entirely
surrounded and shut in by dense cane-brakes and rank
vegetation ; sometimes on the top of a hill where the jungle
is comparatively open, from which the male bird clears
everything in the shape of dead leaves or weeds for the space
of 6 or 8 yards square, until nothing but the bare earth
remains, and thereafter he keeps this place scrupulously clean,
carefully removing every dead leaf or twig that may happen
to fall on it from the trees above. The food of the Argus
consists chiefly of fallen fruit, as well as of ants, slugs and
insects. The birds feed in the early morning, and all come
down to the water to drink about ten or eleven a.m., and the
males then retire to look after their drawing-room for the rest
of the day.

lOI

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

"Mr Davison says that in his opinion these cleared spaces
are undoubtedly dancing-grounds, but he was never able to
catch one of the birds actually dancing- in them. The
proprietor was always either seated quietly in the clearing
or was moving slowly backwards and forwards, calling at
short intervals. Except in the hours of feeding or drinking
in the morning and evening, the male Argus Pheasants were
always to be found at home, and they roost in the trees close
to their clearing. They are remarkably shy birds, inhabiting
the depths of the dense evergreen forests, and are most
difficult of approach, as they dive into the impenetrable
thickets on the first suspicion of danger, and never fly if
they can escape by running, even when pursued by a dog.
Even if the hunter manages to approach the playing-ground
so stealthily that only a few yards separate him from the
calling bird, the latter has always disappeared when at last
he is able to see into the clearing through the dense inter-
vening foliage. It is therefore impossible to shoot the birds,
but they are somewhat easily trapped when once their
playing-ground is discovered.

"Thus Mr Davison himself used to catch them by
building a hedge of cut scrub round the playing-ground, and
leaving four openings for the bird to enter by, each furnished
with a running noose attached to a bent sapling, but the
Malays take advantage of the idiosyncrasy of the Argus to
keep its clearing scrupulously clean, and act accordingly.
A bit of bamboo, about i8 or 20 inches long and
a. ^ of an inch wide, is shaved down till it is of the
thickness of writing-paper, the edges being as sharp as
a razor. This narrow pliant piece ends in a stout sort of
handle at one end, 6 or 8 inches long, which is driven
firmly into the ground in the middle of the cleared space.
The bird in trying to remove it, scratches and pecks at it,

102

THE ARGUS PHEASANT

endeavouring to dig it up, but finding all its efforts vain, it
twists the narrow pliant portion several times round its neck
and takes hold of the bamboo near the ground with its bill,
then giving a sudden spring backwards to try and pull it up.
The consequence is that its head is nearly severed from its
body by the razor-like edges of the bamboo.

" Another method is to erect two small posts, about 4
feet high and 3 feet apart, in the clearings, across the top
of which a bar is firmly fastened. Over this bar a string is
run, by one end of which a heavy block of wood is sus-
pended just under the bar, while the other end is suspended
to a peg lightly driven into the ground immediately beneath
the block. The bird commencing as usual to clear away
these obstructions, soon manages to pull up the peg and thus
release the heavy block of wood which falls and crushes it."

Elliot, in his valuable monograph on the Phasianidce, gives
the following description of the Argus Giganteus and the
Argus Grayi : —

Argus Giganteus

"Although known to naturalists for a century, up to the
present time nothing whatever has been recorded of the
habits and economy of the Great Argus. No European has
ever shot it that I am aware of, and its habits of living in the
depths of the forests and amid the recesses of dark thickets,
renders it very difficult to observe in its haunts. The Great
Argus is not capable of very extended flight, the length of
the secondary feathers interfering materially with its efforts at
progressing through the air.

" Five individuals of this species have at different periods
been brought alive to Europe. The first was a male and

103

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

lived for some time in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park,
where he was the object of great attraction to all who saw him.
The other four are now living. One of these is a female, at
present in the Gardens of Amsterdam, where I lately saw it.
Another male is in the private collection of Phasianidce,
belonging to His Majesty, the King of Italy. A pair was
originally shipped, but the female unfortunately died on the
voyage. The male, as I have lately heard, is in fine
condition and very tame. It is to be hoped that the female
now at Amsterdam will also become His Majesty's property,
and that the race may be continued in Europe. The
remaining pair are the property of Baron Rothschild and
are now living in the Gardens of the Zoological Society,
Regent's Park, and walk about their enclosure with a proud
and upright carriage. Unfortunately, the male is shorn of
his chief ornaments, as it was necessary to cut the tail and
secondary feathers to allow of his introduction into the box
which served as his home during the voyage to England.
It is apparently not a difficult bird to preserve in confine-
ment, and we may confidently trust that it will, before long,
be a familiar object in pheasantries of Europe.

" The Great Argus is accustomed to strut somewhat after
the manner of the Peacock, but he has no length of train to
display, though he makes up for this by elevating and
opening his wings, so that the long secondaries are shown in
a semicircle over his back, the spread tail completing the
circle and filling up the space between the wings in the
centre. This exhibition has an exceedingly beautiful effect,
the hundreds of eyes or spots scattered over the feathers
giving the bird a very novel appearance.

"The top of the head and occipital crest, black; bare
skin of head and neck, rich deep blue ; breasts and under
parts, deep red with black and buff lines running along the

104

THE ARGUS PHEASANT

feathers ; back and wings, black, covered all over with buff
spots ; rump and upper tail coverts, buff with brown spots ;
primaries, light grey on outer webs, covered with regular
lines of rufous brown spots ; inner webs, very light rufous,
covered with black spots with rufous centres, a line next the
shaft, olive-brown, crossed with fine dark brown lines, then a
broad red band spotted minutely with white, running about
two-thirds the length of the feather ; shaft, orange at base
and deep blue for the remainder of the length ; secondaries,
exceedingly long, dark brown, thickly covered on the outer
webs next the shaft with ocellated spots, yellow in the centre
then olive with an outer rim of black. From these eyes to
the margin of the feather, run narrow blackish-brown
diagonal lines. Inner webs covered with round blackish-
brown spots, surrounded with very light brown rings ; tips
of secondaries, dark reddish-brown spotted with white ; the
shafts white ; middle tail feathers very long, greyish on
inner web, spotted with white, these spots surrounded with
black ; outer web, black next the shaft, chestnut on the
remaining, spotted with white with black margins. Rest of
feathers chestnut, covered with white spots having black
outer rims ; bill, horn colour.

" Female, similar to male, but without the lengthened
secondaries and middle tail feathers ; her secondaries,
blackish, irregularly marked with buff lines ; tail feathers,
brown mottled with black.

" Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra (Blyth), Siam (Mouhot),
Sumatra, in deep forests (Raffles), Tenasserim River
(Blyth)."

Small Argus Pheasant [Argus Grayi)

" Nothing whatever has been discovered concerning this
bird since I described it in the Ibis in 1865, and I believe

105

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

that the two specimens in the British Museum are the only
representatives known of this species. Considerably smaller
than the Great Argus, it also presents various differences in
the markings of its feathers which would seem to entitle it
to be separated from its longer-known ally. Unfortunately,
its habitat is not known with any degree of certainty, as it
is doubtful if the two specimens we have come from Borneo,
but it is pretty certain that he has come from the localities
where Argus Giganteus is found, else we should have found
more examples of the species before this time. The principal
differences between this bird and the larger species consists
in the deep red breast and under parts, bright chestnut of the
lower part of the neck, the black tail, the small size of the
ocellated spots, and also of the dots on the wing and tail,
together with the prevalence of white on the back. The
other specimen, which appears to be a young male, has the
lower part of the breast a yellowish-brown, finely barred with
black, the upper portion a light chestnut-red like the more
adult bird. The tail is motded with brown, two of the
feathers presenting the white spots.

" The species may be described as follows : —
" Bill, horn colour ; base of the upper mandible, black. A
narrow line of black hair-like feathers commences at the bill
and continues over the top of the head and down the back of
the neck, elongated on the occiput, so as to form a crest.
The rest of the head and upper part of the neck, bare ;
lower portion of the neck and upper part of the breast,
bright chestnut-red ; under parts, entirely chestnut, darker
on the flanks, each feather irregularly marked with white,
bordered on each side with black ; upper portion of the
back and wings, blackish, confusedly marked with white ;
rest of the back and upper part of the coverts, dark buff,
covered with round black spots. The wings resemble those

io6

THE ARGUS PHEASANT

of the Argus Giganteus, but are much darker, inclined to be
black, and have ocellated spots much smaller ; tail, black,
outer webs dotted with very small and inner webs with larger
white spots. The inner webs of the third and fourth feathers
near their tips have white marks very much enlarged, giving
to this portion a light appearance, but there is none of the
rufous colouring so conspicuous on the outer webs of the tail
feathers of Argus Gigantczis. The long middle feathers of
the tail are black on their outer webs for about half their
width ; the rest, chestnut, dotted with small white spots ;
inner webs, grey, also spotted with white and growing lighter
towards the edge."

107

CHAPTER XVIII

The Eared Pheasant

This is a hardy variety of aviary Pheasant and forms a
remarkable exception to the rule with regard to the plumage
of the male and female, the cock and hen birds of this
species being identically alike in plumage, the only distinction
of importance being the presence of spurs in the former.
The name "Eared" Pheasant has been derived from the
tuft of white feathers which project upwards and slightly
backwards above the head, forming a tuft on either side.

The Eared Pheasants belong to a genus known as the
" Crossoptilon" of which there are five species, though
European Naturalists are only familiar with two of these
species, namely, the Manchurian Eared Pheasant {Crossoptilon
Mantchtiricuvt), and the White Tibet Species {Crossoptilon
Tibetaman).

The Manchurian Eared Pheasant inhabits the mountains
to the North of Pekin, and the white species is found in
Tibet.

In many of their habits the Eared Pheasants resemble
those of the domestic fowl, being quite as hardy, prolific,
and sociable as the birds last alluded to. The beak is white
and the skin of the face bright red. The tail coverts are
white, abundant, and form, as it were, part of the tail, in this
respect differing from other species of Pheasant. The legs
and feet are reddish, thick in the shanks, and the toes very
strong. The feathers clothing the body are brown, whilst

io8

THE EARED PHEASANT

the whole build of the bird is of a very masculine type,
its physical development being of a much more massive
character than that of other species. Specimens do fairly
well in aviaries, and have been reared in the Zoological
Gardens as well as by various private owners. The only
use of the Eared Pheasant in Great Britain is as an orna-
mental bird, but there are other species much more suitable
for this purpose.

109

CHAPTER XIX

The Blood Pheasants

The Blood Pheasants belong to the genus Ithagenes, and
there are several species which resemble in certain respects
the Silver Pheasant. The birds of this genus are so named
because they have blood-coloured patches of plumage beneath
the throat, on the breast, and under the tail, etc. They are
characterised by a tail consisting of fourteen feathers, the
presence of a crest in the male, naked patches beneath the
eyes, red legs and toes, and by the crimson patches previously
alluded to.

The Blood Pheasants are indigenous to the mountainous
regions of Eastern Tibet, and to the western and northern
mountains of China. They all nest on the ground, laying
about a dozen eggs, although the precise nesting habits of
the various species of Blood Pheasants are not very clearly
understood. The three species are as follows : — Ithagenes
Geojfroyi, Ithagenes Sinensis, Ithagenes Crucntits.

Geoffry's Blood Pheasant (^Ithagenes Geojfroyi)

The birds of this species inhabit the higher regions of
Eastern Tibet and Western Szechuen in China, and the
total length of the bird is about 17 inches. It has a crest
of grey feathers and a patch of green on the wing coverts
larger than that in the other species. The under tail coverts

THE BLOOD PHEASANTS

are crimson tipped with grey, whilst the chin, throat and
chest are grey.

Geoffry's Blood Pheasants are gregarious, and particularly
fond of inhabiting the bamboo jungles.

The Northern Blood Pheasant {^Ithagenes Sinensis)

This species inhabits the Sinling Mountains, and also
the higher regions north of Nanshan and Kansu. It is
said to differ from the last species in having a patch of
brown on the wing coverts, and the sides of the crest a
sooty brown. It is about the same size as Geoffry's Blood
Pheasant.

Concerning the habits of these birds, that eminent
naturalist Prjevalsky says :

"We observed this scarce species called by the native
Sermun, only in the Kansu Mountains, where it principally
inhabits the wooded districts and also ascends to the Alpine
regions. We did not obtain a single specimen ourselves, but
bought a skin from the Tanguts, who told us that these birds
in spring keep mostly to the edges of the forests, and about
the Alpine bushes, and then feed on a particular kind of grass.
In winter they descend to the middle and low mountain
ranges, where they form small companies, and pass the
night on trees like Crossoptilon Auritmn."

The Blood Pheasant [likagenes Crtcentus)

Ithagenes Cruentus is said to be very common in Nepal,

where the birds congregate in flocks and feed in the bamboo

III

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

plantations, scratching about just as the common fowl does
for its food. The principal food comprises berries in the
autumn and winter, and the young shoots of various species
of Fir-trees in the spring. A peculiarity of these birds is
that in connection with the spurs ; as many as five spurs
have been found on one leg, and it is said that the bird
develops an additional spur each year, but not beyond the
number already named. The feathers on the breast and
chest are splashed with crimson ; the chin, the throat, and
the cheeks, crimson ; the upper tail coverts are crimson ;
and the medium wing coverts, green. Then the hen bird
is very much plainer, a reddish-brown predominating in her
plumage. Sportsmen who have shot these birds are slightly
at variance concerning their edible qualities, but there is
no reason why the flesh of well-nourished young birds of
Blood Pheasants should not be as good as that of any
other species.

As to whether the Blood Pheasants will breed in confine-
ment and their suitability for aviary purposes the author
has no reliable information, but sees no reason why they
should not thrive in the aviary.

112

CHAPTER XX

The Assumption of Male Plumage by Female Pheasants

That hen Pheasants occasionally assume the male plumage
is a fact well known to anyone having an extensive acquaint-
ance with Pheasants, either in covert or in aviary, but this
assumption of the male characteristics is by no means confined
to Pheasants, as innumerable instances have been recorded
in various other members of the feathered tribe. The trans-
formation of plumage is gradual, and is usually regarded as
evidence of sterility, but it has been proved, not only in
Pheasants, but in other birds, that it must not be accepted
as positive of such evidence. In other words, it is the out-
ward expression of degenerative changes in connection with
the reproductive organs within, though, as stated above, not
a rule free from exceptions.

The transition begins at the extremities of the feathers,
and proceeds with a tolerable degree of uniformity, until the
bird is invested with a mantle of plumage almost identical
with that of the male. In certain instances doubt has arisen
as to the identity of the sex, but it is not difficult to establish
this by after-death examination. The presence of the
oviduct, or the existence of the degenerative stage of the
ovary, will afford positive proof as to the sex. The mere
presence of spurs is not sufficient to satisfy the exacting
mind, because some hens, as is well known, develop spurs,
though in a modified form. An acute observer can detect
the feminine element in the physiognomy of the bird, so
H 113

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

obviously portrayed in the accompanying illustration, which,
through the kindness of Mr R. E. Horsfall, of Stody Lodge,
Melton Constable, the author has been enabled to reproduce.
This illustration was depicted in the field, but at the time
a certain amount of ambiguity was expressed concerning
the identity of the sex, though Mr Horsfall had not the
least doubt about it himself, and in order to support his
theory as to the bird being a hen, he has favoured me with
a copy of the taxidermist's letter, which runs as follows : —

" On dissection the Pheasant was a female without doubt.
The ovary was in a degenerate condition, but the oviduct
was there, which leaves no room for doubt.

"(Signed) N. H. Pashley."

The production of barren hens may arise from two
causes : first, from disease of the ovary or oviduct ; secondly,
from senility, in other words, from old hens, which should
not be allowed to exist in the coverts, as their presence
materially diminishes the perpetuation of the species. The
assumption of the male plumage is not necessarily a per-
manent one, either in the Pheasant or in any other birds,
and this has been proved on several occasions, but in no
instance can one have a better proof than that afforded by
the Mallard, and the Rouen Drakes, which for three months
in the year undergo a periodical change of plumage, assuming
the feminine garb, which is the converse of the foregoing.
It is, in a relative sense, equally applicable.

Hen Pheasants in male plumage have been known to
revert to their normal state of plumage, and the cock Pheasant
has likewise been found to take on the plumage of the hen,
as reported in the Ibis for 1897, page 438. Whether the
bird was sterile or not does not appear to have been proved,

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MALE PLUMAGE ON FEMALE PHEASANTS

but it must be borne in mind that sterility in a male, through
degenerative changes in the generative organs, is just as
liable to occur as in the case of the female. Again, spurless
cock Pheasants are not unknown, therefore the absence of
these weapons of defence — sometimes offence — is not proof
as to the identity of sex.

Two facts of practical importance to the game-preserver
are associated with this change of plumage in birds, and
should not be lost sight of. The first one is not to leave
a lot of old hens in the coverts, but to replenish the stock
every second or third year ; and secondly, to allow only young
and vigorous male birds to remain for the perpetuation of the
stock.

CHAPTER XXI

Pheasantry Eggs versus Wild Ones

This is a subject of considerable importance to game-rearers,
and one that has been, and still is, a constant source of
argument, there being no end of contributions in the various
journals devoted to the preservation of game. Some game-
keepers are strongly in favour of pheasantry eggs, whereas
others prefer eggs gathered from birds under natural
conditions.

Although the Pheasant readily adapts itself to environ-
ment, it must be borne in mind that the nearer such
approaches are to the original state the more complete
the ultimate results. Virility is strengthened by natural
conditions, and it must stand as an incontrovertible fact
that the chicks produced from wild Pheasants' eggs, and
reared naturally, are stronger than those raised in an
artificial manner. Eggs derived from wild birds and then
hatched by hens and subsequently reared under artificial
conditions are, most certainly in the writer's opinion, superior
to those produced in the pens from penned birds. Every
game-preserver knows perfectly well that any misfortune
arising during the hatching process of such eggs — i.e., the
wild ones — is accidental and has no connection whatever
with the manner in which the eggs have been produced.
If plenty of hen Pheasants are left in the coverts, which
there ought to be in every well-regulated game preserve,
eggs will be produced under natural conditions, and when

ii6

PHEASANTRY EGGS VERSUS WILD ONES

the keeper can obtain a supply of eggs from such a source,
he ought with good management to have vastly superior
birds to the man who rears exclusively from aviary
produced eggs.

To encourage egg-laying in the coverts is one of the
first duties the gamekeeper has to perform, and if he
makes artificial nests in suitable places in the coverts, as
well as in the hedgerows where the Pheasants are likely
to stray, and deposits an artificial Qgg in each, there ought
to be no difficulty in persuading the hens to lay their eggs.
What may be termed the "natural concealment" of eggs
is owing to their colour corresponding closely to that of
their surroundings, and a hen Pheasant will, as a rule, select
a site for its nest that is well concealed. In some instances
she will lay in the nest of a partridge, likewise that of the
domestic fowl, but there is one matter that she desires,
namely, seclusion for her nest, or to be away from the
interruption of the male bird, which, by the way, it may not
be out of place to mention, sometimes takes on maternal
duties, and will not only sit on and hatch the eggs, but
also rear the brood, though such instances are exceptional.

In relation to this matter the editors of the Gamekeepei'
were anxious for the benefit of their readers to have the
views of gamekeepers upon the subject, and offered a prize
for the best essay, the selected one being as follows ; and
it is written by W. D. Fairweather, head-keeper to Sir
A. Wilson, Dunning, Perthshire : —

" Personally, I have not the least doubt that the eggs
from penned Pheasants are superior to the eggs from wild
ones. If there was a question about it, I would not have
penned birds, neither would many outside game-farmers,
I am perfectly well aware that many keepers, particularly

X17

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

of the older school, hold an opposite opinion, and what is
more they can bring forward some very good arguments
to substantiate that opinion. Many old keepers base their
arguments against penned or pheasantry eggs, on the result
obtained from what I may term the primitive system of
penning Pheasants ; pens about the size of a good pigsty
immovable as the hills, and generally as near the kennels
as possible, being a few of the obvious characteristics of
that system. Perhaps for one year or two the results were
extremely good, next year only fair, and after that failure
and the consequent condemnation of all penned eggs. Now,
the great arguments for wild eggs are that the birds are
stronger and healthier because they are living in a natural
state, that they are not coddled or pampered up in any way
whatever, and as a result, the chicks from eggs laid by wild
birds have much more stamina than the others and so are
much less bother to rear. If these arguments are sound,
why do Pheasants not increase appreciably even when there
is no rearing? If they do, it is generally the result of years
of very careful nursing, with the addition of the warning
' cocks only ' on the shooting days. The truth is that our
climate, more especially our northern Scottish climate, is
just a shade severe for Pheasants during the winter and
spring seasons ; they need special attention and feeding
at all times, and even with all this in some years the
young wild birds reared are few and far between. And
so I say that when my birds are penned I have them
directly under my observation. I can feed them and be
certain that they get what I want them to get ; I can
shelter them as I wish, and if I get a change of blood I
can be sure that I am getting the very utmost out of the
change. Simple enough things these, but difficult to make
certainties when dealing with wild birds. Then I can reject

ii8

PHEASANTRY EGGS VERSUS WILD ONES

a hen that I think is unhealthy, or weakly or old ; this I
consider very important too, as I could not possibly know
her eggs if they were picked up outside. And by gather-
ing my eggs late and early, I can be sure that they are
never damaged by frost ; by no means a slight advantage
in almost every year as far north as this. Then I can store
the eggs away from rats and wet, and turn them as I think
fit ; there is no worry as to their safety. One reads that
a hen Pheasant will turn her eggs every time she visits
her nest, but she does not ; and when one considers that
a nest with fourteen eggs may take three weeks to fill, one
wonders if there is much in the turning theory if that nest
hatches out all right. I know also that there is a greater
chance of all my penned eggs being fertile. Several times
I have taken in a wild nest and not one fertile egg in it,
because the hen was too far away from her kind. I have
been contradicted and laughed at before for saying that,
yet it is none the less a fact. My birds also pay me better
because I get twenty eggs from a hen that may only lay
fourteen outside, and I also save to the extent of my own
time and the time of my men, when they would be looking
for wild eggs. Some would say 'picking up wild eggs,'
but I say 'looking for,' advisedly. There is such a lot of
looking for and so very little of the picking up, especially
when one has the hen waiting on the eggs. Over and above
all these advantages I have comparative peace in my mind
about vermin. If one takes a reasonable amount of care
the eggs are secure from winged vermin, even in an open
pen ; foxes cannot get near the birds without a lot of trouble ;
hedgehogs and rats can be looked after, and little is left to
luck or chance. With wild eggs a very great deal always
must be left to both. Nor do I believe that the young
chicks from wild eggs are one little bit the easier to rear

119

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

once they are hatched. I have always noticed that wild
Pheasant chicks are a shade wilder and quicker than those
hatched from penned eggs, and I am quite sure that besides
being the only difference this wilder trait is a distinct dis-
advantage. It is nothing as long as the fronts are on,
but if one has to rear on a bare field and has both kinds
of chicks, he will soon know which he prefers when they
are let away. It is a dreary job counting a row of wild
Pheasants at feeding-time and as dreary a job getting them
shut up at nights after they are any size. There is no real
proof that the wild chicks grow better or quicker than the
others ; many a rearer imagines they do so because he
wishes them to be so, though that is not quite the same
thing. I know also that the wild birds die just like the
others when any of the real troubles come to the rearing-
field ; it is no argument to say that they do not die from
like causes outside, as the conditions are very widely
different. Finally, no one can say the wild birds fly a bit
better or higher than the others on shooting days, if they
are fed the same, and somehow I have a conviction that
they retain their wandering propensities till the day of
their death. To my mind there is no comparison possible
between the two kinds of eggs ; if time, trouble, and the
certainty of getting the best results from outlay and work
are all taken into proper consideration, the penned eggs
have it easily. And what can there really be in the question
of Stamina? We all know that even our breeds of domestic
fowls give of their best only when they are specially fed
and sheltered ; more especially is this true from the point
of view of either quantity or fertility, and why the identically
same treatment should be wrong for the less hardy Pheasant
beats me to understand. I know that there are men who
invite disease even in their Pheasant pens, through the

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PHEASANTRY EGGS VERSUS WILD ONES

old causes of dirt, overcrowding and laziness ; when that
happens it is the fault of the man and not of the system."

Mr H. Phuler also offered his views in the following
essay : —

"It must not be overlooked that the Pheasant is not a
native of the British Isles ; neither must we forget that in
most cases it is living a life that is altogether foreign to the
real wild Pheasant. Therefore in speaking of wild Pheasants
we do not (or should not) think of it as a bird following its
natural, I might say, virgin wildness. When the shooting
season is over, and all the birds required for the pens are
caught up, we can usually find a few left in the home coverts.
Everything is done to induce these birds to stay in those
coverts and also to draw all outsiders as near the centre of
the beat as possible. There are many reasons for this ; they
are more under a watchful eye, can be fed regularly, and
helped in many ways ; also their nests, when the time comes,
can usually be located with little trouble, and this is a great
advantage to the keeper, as he can then make use of the
eggs if he wishes. In many cases these birds have been
hatched from pheasantry eggs the year previous and become
quite used to the feeding methods, and are quite familiar
with their daily contact with their keep-feeder. As this has
gone on yearly they have lost a great deal of their wild
instinct, and seem quite content to make a gluttonous feed
once or twice daily, and then settle down to the prescribed
life marked out for them. Their daily rambles are confined
to a very small radius, and their inclinations in that respect
have quite left them. In many cases they are fed and
attended to much the same as penned birds, and become
very indolent, and do not leave — at least not willingly — their

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

every-day haunts. They become very much like tame
pigeons ; they have their liberty but they do not leave home.
In many cases they are almost as much under control as the
birds in the pens, and the treatment being the same in both
cases, the results are often much the same. A bird in a large
open pen is almost in the same position as the one outside
under these circumstances. In an open pen fresh blood can
be introduced more successfully than outside, and the hens
still have the benefit of the outside cocks. Also there are
many things that can be done with advantage in the pens,
which are not practicable outside, which help the birds to
produce the best results. Of course the outside birds have
advantages over the others, but results show that the eggs
from penned birds are usually as good in every way as from
(so-called) wild birds in the home coverts. There are times
and seasons when these outside eggs prove to be the best,
but, on an average, if the pens are well and successfully
managed the eggs from them are far more regular and
reliable.

" But there is another class of Pheasant in the British
Isles known to most keepers. This one has never been seen
on any of the usual feeding-places. In fact, it has always
avoided them, and all that appertains to such places, as much
as possible. It has never known what it was to fill its crop
in a few minutes from a quantity of food thrown down for
it, but has had to pick and constantly feed in a perfectly
natural way, the whole of its time. It has become so quiet
and cunning that it has quite escaped notice, and its presence
is quite overlooked. It usually has, or appears to have, a
mate all to itself, and this is a very fitting mate in all respects.
So cute is he that notwithstanding his bright plumage he
keeps himself quite invisible, and even when he crows, by
a provision of nature, he does it in such a manner that his

PHEASANTRY EGGS VERSUS WILD ONES

exact whereabouts is quite a mystery. This is a pair of
Pheasants as nearly approaching their wild state as they
possibly can in our country. When the nest is found it is
often quite unexpectedly, and generally in or near the
boundary fence, or in some remote part of the estate. There
are often seventeen eggs or even more in the nest, and what
eggs they are ! The keeper has no fear of carrying them a
matter of 3 miles in his pockets ; the shells are almost
as hard as guinea-fowls' eggs. They then prove 100 per
cent, fertile, and 95 per cent, hatch off in many cases. As
for the chicks, look round the coops in a few days' time and
see their wild nature ; even at so young an age they are
fully developed, and when confined to the guards they would,
if startled, kill themselves in an endeavour to rush quickly to
cover. True offspring of their parents, days after, take a
walk round the rearing-field with the keeper, and he may
point out to you certain very smart skulking birds amongst
the rest, which you would quite have failed to see, with the
remark, ' That is a wild bird. ..." ' There is another, I can
tell 'em by their legs.' What a pity they are so scarce ! Of
course, from a rearing point of view, it is quite impossible to
have these eggs to take the place of pheasantry eggs, as
there are so many points to be considered, and at present we
are only dealing with the merits of the eggs. Modern egg-
producing, under the most scientific system, has failed as yet
to give an egg equal to these. But this is the kind of egg
aimed at, and wanted."

From the foregoing essays it will be gleaned that the two
writers are diametrically opposed in their views, the former
advocating penned Pheasant eggs as being the best, and he
clearly states his reasons to substantiate his dictum ; on the
other hand Phuler argues that wild eggs give the most

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

satisfactory results, but he admits that there are many advan-
tages to be gained in connection with the penned birds un-
obtainable in the wild condition. Again Phuler seems to
make a distinction between the ordinary Pheasants of coverts
and what may for convenience be designated " outlaw "
Pheasants. It would, however, be quite impossible in the
preservation of game, as it stands to-day, to place much
reliance upon the rearing of birds of the lawless type last
referred to.

With few exceptions the hen Pheasant makes her nest on
the ground, and as these are very often cleverly concealed, it is
impossible for keepers to discover them, though in searching
for eggs it is surprising how skilful the observant keeper
becomes in the detection of Pheasants' nests. Sometimes
several hens will nest in close proximity, and when they do
so, a considerable number of eggs may be collected in this
manner. Those eggs which are first laid in the nest will, if
removed, be replaced by a second lot, and many keepers allow
the second batch of eggs to be hatched by the hen Pheasant.
This is not at all a bad practice, as it combines what may be
termed natural with artificial game-raising, the advantages of
which in certain localities are at once obvious ; whereas where
vermin are troublesome, or the eggs are likely to be detected
by labourers and others, it is disadvantageous.

In searching for Pheasants' eggs it is necessary to be very
cautious not to disturb the hen but allow her to vacate her
nest at her own free will. Nests can often be located by
watching for the birds feeding in the morning and evening,
and their subsequent movements. A practice adopted by
many keepers is to find the nests with a pointer or setter.
No matter how carefully nests may be searched for there is
bound to be a certain number that remain undiscovered, and
it is just as well that it should be so, as this materially helps

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to strengthen the constitutional stamina of the birds raised
from penned Pheasants.

Some gamekeepers, when they remove the eggs from the
nest, carry them home in the shirt bosom, pocket, etc., but an
ingenious invention known as the " Foster-mother Egg Beh "
has recently been patented to act as a safe carrier for eggs.
The latter can be kept warm for about thirty-six hours.
This belt is worn underneath the keeper's waistcoat, and has
a number of cotton-wool compartments into each of which
a Pheasant's egg can be fitted. There is another advantage
in using this belt, and that is the eggs or a portion of them
can be removed from one nest and exchanged for that of
another, so that a system of cross-breeding can be followed.*

If the season is a particularly wet one, it is not economical
to allow much natural hatching, it being better under these
circumstances to gather in most of the eggs and rear the
birds under hens.

A word of caution is necessary with regard to the purchase
of wild eggs from labourers and others, as the writer has
known a gamekeeper purchase eggs that have been obtained
from the estate over which he had charge in the preservation
of game ; but Pheasant egg stealing is, unfortunately, in spite
of stringent legislation, far too common.

The rewarding of labourers for the discovery of nests is
a commendable practice, so far as it goes, but this may
develop into a vice, and it does so through two channels,
namely, by training them to make specific excursions with
a view to discovering them, and secondly, for the pecuniary
gain attached to it. The honorarium should only be given
when it is absolutely certain that the chicks have been
hatched from the eggs, as proved by the evidence afforded

* The belts referred to can be obtained in three sizes from Messrs Gilbertson
& Page, Hertford.

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

by the empty shells in the nest. A peculiarity in connection
with sitting Pheasants is, that when a nest containing eggs
becomes known to several hens, they will all probably sit
on it at once. The human egg-stealer, crows, jays, magpies,
rats, together with various other vermin, both winged and
ground, as well as late frosts, are accountable for the de-
struction of a large proportion of wild Pheasants' eggs, some
of which enemies can, to a large extent, be controlled by the
keeper and his men. Frost, wet, and other adverse climatic
conditions are quite beyond the control of the keeper.

In the accompanying illustration there is depicted two
keepers in search of eggs, and it will be observed what close
scrutiny is necessary for the detection of the nests. When
nests are discovered in exposed situations, a keeper can by
art very often assist in the concealment of such a nest, thus
affording it the necessary degree of protection.

Labourers and Game Eggs

On many estates it is necessary to guard against not
only the stealing of eggs by those whose purpose is to sell
them, but also the thieves whose only object for securing
the eggs of game is to eat them. The last-mentioned
marauders are usually of the labouring class, for whom
the keepers keep a constant watch, very often reverting to
the offer of a pecuniary reward, in order to induce the
labourers to refrain from pillaging the nests of the game ;
but there is the risk in this precaution of the labourers
searching for nests, in which case much harm may be the
result, and a man caught at this practice should be dealt
with by the law. A nest is sometimes discovered when
grass is being mown, or disturbed by a flock of sheep grazing

126

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PHEASANTRY EGGS VERSUS WILD ONES

near ; it is then that a labourer can justly claim his reward
by saving the eggs from destruction. To do this the nest
should not be disturbed, but the keeper made acquainted of
the vicinity in which it lies, so that he can judge for himself
if there is any danger.

Should it be discovered that the hen from off the nest
has met with some accident preventing her from sitting
again on the eggs, the labourer should at once gather them,
nd hand them over to the keeper, taking care to see that
they are kept as warm as possible while off the nest. There
is an instance known of a partridge returning to her nest,
after it had been exposed by the cutting of the crop in the
middle of which it was situated, and remaining there to
hatch the eggs for four days, even with mowing operations
going on the whole time.

When a keeper has been told that a nest is in dano-er
the finder should be questioned as to how he became ac-
quainted with the fact. If it is thought that the nest is really
in danger, and should be removed at once, then the labourer
is entitled to receive his reward there and then ; but when
the nest is left as it is, on the chance that with due pre-
cautions the brood may be hatched, then the question of
reward should be left in abeyance until after that event has
come to pass, and all danger is over. Otherwise the labourer
may steal the eggs, leaving the keeper to believe that the
eggs have disappeared by other means. If the reward is
left over, the finder may do his best to earn it by protecting
the nest as far as possible within his power.

With all his care, however, the keeper is sometimes

outwitted by the labourer, as in the following instance :

Having found a Pheasant's nest in his garden fence, a man
was promised the usual reward on its hatching, by the

keeper. Some time afterwards the finder received the

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

amount promised, the nest having been discovered full of
shells. Later, however, the keeper discovered that after
giving the information concerning the nest, the informant
had returned and removed the eggs, sold them to a keeper
on an adjacent estate, and received from the latter the
empty shells which he had placed in the nest, and it was
on the discovery of these shells that he received his reward.

Another method adopted by a gentleman who owned
a large shooting, and who believed that for one egg stolen
for game, a dozen were taken for eating, was found to
be particularly applicable. He realised that a hen's egg
would be appreciated more than that of a Partridge or
Pheasant, and so offered one of the former for each one
of the latter found. Although long since dead, this practice
is still carried out on the estates in the districts where he
lived.

The relationship between the gamekeeper and labourers
has much to do with the saving of eggs, as naturally if on
friendly terms with a keeper, a labourer will not go out
of his way to annoy him by tampering with the nests, and
thus the loss in this way will be very small.

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CHAPTER XXII

Management of Pheasants in Aviaries and Penning

THE Birds

The number of hen birds allotted to each cock ranges from
five to eight, and many keepers believe that five hens to
each cock is the orthodox number, but it may be accepted
that the number first named is about right. Although a
monogamous bird, the Pheasant has, by semi-domestication,
become polygamous, but he is not capable of keeping more
than six or eight wives busy throughout the season, in other
words, of rendering the loves of his harem prolific.

The catching up of the birds, prior to their confinement
in the aviary, is always a matter of considerable concern to
the keeper who has a real interest in the well-being of
his birds. Various devices are employed for such purposes,
some of a rude and simple construction, others more
elaborate in design.

It does not make much difference what sort of trap is
employed, provided that it can be relied upon to do its
duty efficaciously, with a minimum amount of injury to the
birds entrapped. If birds are allowed to knock themselves
about in the traps, it will be a long time before they will
settle down properly, and this is one reason why a proportion,
though in the minority, take their aviary Pheasants directly
from the rearing-field. The question is, is this a commend-
able practice or is it not, and the author has not the
slightest hesitation in condemning the custom, as it is the
I 129

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

surest method of perpetuating a stock of Pheasants con-
stitutionally weak, more than semi-domesticated, and very
liable to fall an easy prey to disease. Such a practice can-
not be too strongly discouraged, and if its detrimental
influences are not apparent in the first, second or third
generation of birds, it is bound to show itself sooner or
later.

The gamekeeper wants birds that can fly, and the
sportsman wants birds that he can shoot, which neither
will have, if such artificialities are indulged in.

A common form of hand-made willow trap is depicted
in the illustration, and it is one a good deal used by keepers.
Another form of catcher is shown in the woodcut. It is
always set, and the best plan is to scatter food about it.
For a few days the doors must be left open, and the birds
will go inside to feed through the doors. Afterwards the
doors should be closed, and the food put at the mouth
of the tunnel, through which the birds will pass, but they
cannot find their way out again. These traps are 2
feet 9 inches long, 2 feet wide, and 15 inches high.
Their cost, ten shillings each.* It is seldom that the birds
find the outlet to these cages. It is advantageous to have
the traps much larger than the bird, otherwise it will damage
itself.

A very simple form of trap is a hole in the ground, with
a board to drop over, so that the captive is kept not only in
the dark, but also perfectly quiet.

Never place cock birds with the hens in the laying pens
until the hens have had a few days to settle down. Some
male birds seem to take a dislike to the female, and continue
to annoy her, plucking feathers out of her, and this is soon
followed by the rest of his wives maltreating her in a similar
• Messrs Gilbertson & Page, Hertford, supply these traps.
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MANAGEMENT OF PHEASANTS IN AVIARIES

TtKCIITJEED COIYBICHT.

♦ FEEDING TROUGH

fashion. No doubt there is a reason why a male bird should
take a dislike to one member of the harem and not the rest,
but it seems to be a case of " the more I see of you the more
detestable your presence becomes," and so the persecution
continues.

In the handling of birds, for their removal to the
pheasantry, a good deal of tact is
requisite, though some keepers catch
hold of birds so roughly that half
their plumage is destroyed.

The author believes in handling
the birds by their legs, thus avoiding
damage to plumage.

The best time for putting the
Pheasants in the pens is at night, and the easiest time to
catch the birds in the traps for the pens is during a snow-
storm. If the pit-traps are used, some maize should be
thrown into the holes as a decoy previous to the setting
of the trap. All aviaries require perches. Regarding the
question of age for stock birds,
two-year-old cock birds are the
best, and these should be mated
with one-year-old hens. Make it
a point to always keep a supply
of two-year-old cocks and one-
year-old hens.

Pheasants in aviaries require
to be fed night and morning,

one meal consisting of soft food and the other of hard. A
free supply of pure water and plenty of grit are indispensable.
Oats, barley, kibble beans, peas, lentils, and greaves, or a

* The feeding troughs depicted are the registered designs of Messrs
Boulton & Paul.

131

♦patent feeding trough

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

supply of green bones, together with barley meal and
biscuit meal, should form the stable diet. In addition to
this, vegetables are distinctly beneficial.

In feeding penned Pheasants, it is necessary to guard
against one thing, and that is, never give them too much
maize. It is a food that lays fat on quicker than any other
cereal, more especially the internal deposition of fat, and once
this takes place, it is a barrier to egg-laying ; moreover, it is
conducive to indolence, and this in its turn predisposes to
vice, such as feather-eating, etc.

Nitrogenous foods, such as greaves, green bone, beans,
peas, lentils, are all favourable to egg-production by stimu-
lating the ovarian apparatus. Give the birds plenty to
do whilst they are in the pens, scatter their food broadcast,
and let them have a dust bath, as the more they are kept
in amusement the less liability to disease, vice, etc.

Quietude is advisable, as Pheasants like solitude. Eggs
usually appear about the first week in April, but commonly
during the third week. Make a practice of moving the eggs
from the nests three times per day, always, of course, leaving
a pot egg in. Store them carefully in the egg cabinets.
Egg-eating has been alluded to in another chapter, and if the
offender cannot be cured by the means recommended, that is
by giving her a rotten egg or two to eat, the best plan is to
wring her neck. When birds lay soft-shelled eggs it is a sign
that they want a supply of lime, and the best way to give this
is in the form of ground oyster shells, ground bones, etc.

Keep the egg cabinet in a cool place, neither allow it to
be exposed to frost or sun. The eggs must not be shaken
upon any account. It is customary in many pheasantries to
pinion the birds by cutting the Pheasant's wings, but there
is no necessity for this, because the same object can be
attained by a strap or chain, such pinioning appliances being

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MANAGEMENT OF PHEASANTS IN AVIARIES

sold by dealers in pheasantry requisites. If the wings have
been cut and then the birds are turned again into covert, they
are very liable to fall victims to foxes, etc.

Protection from vermin is an important part in the manage-
of the pheasantry, and doubtless there are many other matters
that will suggest themselves to the thoughtful reader in con-
nection with the management of penned Pheasants, and which
the author may have overlooked ; nevertheless he has endeav-
oured to describe what may be termed the essential outlines
of Pheasant management when the birds are confined to pens.

Penned Pheasants

In connection with this subject the following contribution
appeared in the Gamekeeper, and being a very practical article,
the author has taken the liberty of reproducing it. It is as
follows : —

"Directly eggs are expected from penned Pheasants, the
birds become doubly interesting to those engaged in looking
after them, and the pens are closely scanned several times a
day in search of the first ^^^. Perhaps this is seen in a week,
or at least several days before others appear, and then the
quantity laid gradually increases till two-thirds of the birds
produce an &<g^ each daily.

" For a time this continues, granted that no cold weather
sets in to affect the birds and cause them to cease rapid pro-
duction, and then a pause occurs, and eggs come but slowly.
The experienced rearer is fully aware that this partial cessa-
tion of egg-production is perfectly natural, because it marks
the period when the birds if they had been leading a natural
life would have laid their nest of eggs, and commenced to sit.

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

In the pens they may not begin to sit thus early, because
their systems have been fed up to withstand a greater strain
of laying, and if this feeding is judiciously continued they go
on laying with renewed vigour after a short pause.

" Late eggs are of little value to anyone except he has had
the ill-luck with the hatching of the first, so it is advisable to
begin to check the birds directly the required number is being
approached. What I do is as follows: If I consider that by
the end of the week I shall have in hand as many eggs as I
need, all stimulating food is stopped, and the birds are fed on
little else than dry corn and green food ; in about ten days
they have nearly ceased egg-production and are released, in
all likelihood to lay the last few in a nest and hatch out the
chicks.

" As the laying period advances some of the birds are certain
to show signs of broodiness, and great care should be observed
to collect the eggs frequently at this time ; especially those
which lie together, as the sight of a number of eggs, I am sure,
often induces broodiness. I have proved this with reference
to ordinary fowls, for when I want them to become broody
for placing on Pheasants' eggs the simple device of not remov-
ing their own eggs from the nests generally exercises good
effect, and they come on to sit much more rapidly than they
otherwise would.

" The broodiness of hen Pheasants confined in aviaries
seldom continues long, for the birds cannot get away from the
rest, and the cock has a decided objection to a broody hen in
his presence. He generally worries the bird till she resumes
her ordinary condition, and then the good food soon starts
the bird on to lay once more. When broody birds are noticed
in a pen very close attention must be paid to collecting the
eggs, in case they do get sat upon and started on the way
towards hatching.

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MANAGEMENT OF PHEASANTS IN AVIARIES

"It always pays to shut up one-third more Pheasants than
are generally supposed to be necessary to produce a required
number of eggs ; early eggs are what the rearer needs, and it
sometimes occurs that owing to a spell of cold weather early
eggs are scarce. However, the man with plenty of birds shut
up is nearly certain to be in a safe position. Even if laying
continues satisfactory from start to finish he is better off, for
he is able to release the Pheasants and clear his hens all the
sooner. This is advantageous in the interests of keeping the
ground clean.

" Late eggs are never satisfactory, and I rarely keep birds
in pens after they have laid an average of about eighteen or
twenty each. Eggs produced after this never hatch out the
strongest chicks, and this is the reason late birds are difficult to
rear. The chicks are weakly from the first, and never seem
to gain full strength except under exceptional conditions,
which rarely prevail when they are placed on the rearing-
field.

"If readers only thoroughly understood the importance of
most rigidly selecting their stock birds they would pay the
greatest possible attention to it, and I am afraid it is an under-
taking they carry out without due care. However great the
attention paid to birds on the rearing-field, it is at the best an
artificial process, very different from that intended by Nature.
It is a big step towards success to have the strongest and
healthiest of chicks to deal with, and these can only be got
from stock birds which are full of health and vigour."

I3S

CHAPTER XXIII

Artificial Incubation

In the rearing of poultry the incubation of eggs by means of
artificial heat has been in existence for a great number of
years, though in a somewhat crude form, as all sorts of devices
were originally, but not very successfully, employed for such
purposes. When we are told that the manure heap could be
utilised for the hatching of the eggs of the domestic fowl, one
can easily understand that such crude methods could not be
of a very reliable order.

It is only during this last thirty-five years or so that
artificial incubation has been carried out with any approach
towards success, but it is now, especially in the rearing of
poultry, one of recognised value, and its universal employment
is sufficient evidence of its utility. The remarkable improve-
ments that have taken place, even during this last few years,
in the manufacture of incubators, foster-mothers, and other
rearing appliances, is truly wonderful, and these remarks not
only apply to Great Britain and the Colonies, but also to the
Continent, and above all to the United States, where the
poultry industry is carried out on a large scale, and in a
distinctly progressive manner.

The artificial rearing of Pheasants constitutes an integral
part of most of the principal game shoots within the British
Isles, and owing to the enormous number of birds that are
annually reared on some estates, it is distinctly advantageous
to utilise any appliances that will economise labour, provided
such usage is compatible with successful results.

136

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION

The author feels justified in saying that the incubator is
one of the most useful appliances that the Pheasant-rearer
can possess, and anyone having a considerable number of
birds to rear is most certainly seriously handicapped with-
out it. It is common knowledge that chicks or Pheasants
incubated by artificial means from start to finish are not as
vigorous as broods hatched under natural conditions.

It is not, however, intended that the incubator can be
advantageously employed for cold eggs, because as such it is
certainly not equal to broody hens, but its chief merits, as an
artificial aid, come into play during the final phases of natural
incubation, as directly the eggs begin to chip, they should be
removed to the incubator, and the hatching process com-
pleted therein.

As a rule in a sitting of eggs all the chicks do not come
out on the same day, and the more weakly members are very
liable to be trampled to death, which can be obviated by placing
the remainder of the eggs in the machine. Another advan-
tage in the use of the incubator is that for drying the birds as
soon as they are hatched, and they can be kept in the drawer
until a sufficient length of time has elapsed for feeding
them.

As there are many incubators on the market, the selection
of the machine must be left for individual choice, but never
purchase a cheap incubator, because it is impossible to put
the best adjustments into a machine and sell it at a low
price.

Probably two of the best incubators on the market are those
of Messrs Haersons (Spratt's Patent), and those manufactured
by Messrs Gilbertson & Page, Hertford. Whatever make
be selected there are certain general principles in the manage-
ment of an incubator which are of primary importance, and
unless these are attended to, failure, either partial or complete,

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

is almost certain to be the result. It is in the attention to
details upon which success mainly depends. First of all the
incubator must be kept in a room where the surrounding
medium — i.e., the air — is warm, and the temperature uniform.
A drafty out-house, or a damp place of any kind, is not the
right situation for an incubator ; on the other hand, the apart-
ment must not be too warm. If a keeper has room in his
own cottage — though he is not as a rule overburdened with
apartments — the best plan is to place the incubator in such,
but not in a kitchen that is liable to be overheated.

Previous to putting any eggs in the machine, it is a wise
procedure to regulate and adjust the temperature of the
machine for a few days, so as to become acquainted with the
regulation of the heat. The best temperature is 103°, with a
minimum range of 102° and a maximum of 105° Fahr.

The eggs should be turned night and morning, but before
putting them into the incubator it is advisable to mark each
^%% with a cross on one side, and some other distinguishing
stroke on the other, so that in turning the eggs there will be
one mark displayed in the morning and the other in the
evening. During the turning process shift the position of the
eggs, so that those in the corners and around the sides of the
drawer will be replaced by the eggs in the middle, by which
means the whole of the eggs will be uniform in the incubative
stage. Neglect of this precaution frequently leads to many
of the eggs being spoiled. Whilst turning the eggs the
drawer ought to be left open for ten minutes every day after
the end of the first week, and each subsequent day this time
should be increased about one minute, in order that there will
be about twenty minutes' exposure given to the eggs at the
full period of incubation. This exposure of the eggs to the
air is a very necessary part in the management of an
incubator, though a good deal will depend on the temperature

138

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION

of the room ; if it is a cold room, ten minutes is enough. If
the eggs are put in the incubator in rows and the finger
wetted, it can be run over them and turned over in this
manner, though some incubators have special devices for
turning the eggs.

Test the eggs on the seventh day, and any unfertile ones
should be removed and replaced with other eggs, but never
put cold eggs into an in-
cubator, only using those ^| | 1 1 1 nf
taken from hens at the same
period of incubation. An
extremely useful egg-test-
ing lamp is shown in the
accompanying illustration.
It consists of a lens and
reflector, and in order to
test the egg, the lamp is
lighted and the egg placed
against the focus as shown.
When the eggs begin to
chip, the chipped side must
be turned upwards, and as
soon as the chick is out transfer it to the drying box,
where it will remain if necessary for twenty-four hours.

Late hatching may arise through the temperature being
too low, and too early hatching through the converse of this.
Another very important matter, in fact, one of the most
important items in the management of an incubator, is to
have a sufficient degree of moisture present, but like that
of the temperature, too much moisture is equally pernicious.
There is a happy medium, and in order to strike this correctly,
that good schoolmaster, experience, is indispensable. If the
chamber is too dry, there is too much loss of moisture from

139

EGG-TESTING LAMP
(Gilbertson &. Page.)

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

within the shell, whereas excess of moisture in the chamber
diminishes evaporation inside the shell, and the embryo dies
through a modified form of suffocation.

The condition of the surrounding atmosphere in relation-
ship to the ventilation must be taken into consideration ; for
instance, if the air in the room is too dry, more moisture
must be allowed, whereas if inclined to be damp, the opposite
is applicable. The water-tank should be replenished with
water at a temperature of 1 20°, though some incubators are
what are known as "non-moisture machines," but even
these are usually sold with a water-tray. Either gas or oil
are the usual heating media, the latter being as a rule the
most convenient and the one in most general use. The
best paraffin only to be used, and the trimming of the lamp,
its replenishment with oil, etc., are all details of importance.

In order to judge accurately of the temperature, the bulb
of the thermometer must be kept just above the eggs, and
not touch them, otherwise there will be a difference in the
temperature between that of the eggs and the air above
them. It, the bulb, should be about half an inch above the
level of the eggs within the drawer.

As previously stated, all unfertile eggs should be removed
after testing them, either with the appliance depicted in the
illustration, or by means of a piece of cardboard, blackened
on one side, and with a hole cut in the middle, slightly
smaller than the egg.

The egg is held between the fingers lengthwise over the
aperture, and the dark side of the cardboard facing the
observer, and the lighted lamp on the other side, so that
all unfertile eggs, when viewed in this manner, are seen to
be "clear," whereas those containing chicks will be quite
dark, excepting at the air space.

There are many other inventions on the market for the

140

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION

same purpose, but they are all practically based upon the same
principle.

It is necessary to issue one word of caution in connection
with the transference of Pheasant chicks from the incubator,
and that is to substitute the chickens gradually for the eggs
under the broody hens, one half of the dummy eggs being
removed and then the other half, the substitution being
concurrent. See that the broody hens are free from lice,
otherwise the chicks will be infected, and this will materially
check their growth.

Concerning artificial incubation of Pheasant eggs, it may
be of interest to refer to the opinions of several head-keepers
which are given in the Gamekeeper of January 1909, the
editors of that paper offering a prize for the best essay
upon the subject, the winner being Mr Stewart Smith, but
as two other letters are also meritorious, the author has taken
the liberty of reproducing them in the order named.

The following is Stewart Smith's essay : —

" The perfecting of the incubator to its present state of
efficiency has quite revolutionised the art of rearing Pheasants.
One is nothing (no pun intended) nowadays if not up to
date, and no keeper who proposes to be in the forefront at
his occupation can afford to be without one or more of these
useful machines, according to the number of birds he is
supposed to rear.

" I have experimented with incubators in various ways, and
I may just as well say it now, personally I do not approve
of putting Pheasant eggs in them for the whole period of
incubation. The plan I have found invariably to be the most
successful is to set the eggs under the ordinary broody hens
until they are chipped, then remove all except two or three
that are left with each hen, and place them carefully in the

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

drawer of the incubator. It is a good plan to set the machine
going at the same time the hens were set, or even a day or
two beforehand ; then if any accidents occur, such as a hen
ceasing to be broody or an egg getting cracked, these can
be placed in the drawer and kept until another hen can be
procured. Or you can allow the incubator to finish the
process. In the case of a cracked egg or one that a hen
has put her claw into, the egg will not hatch unless a small
piece of paper is gummed over the fracture. No one who
has ever used one of these appliances would care to attempt
rearing a large number of Pheasants without one, and no
one who has not tried them can possibly have any idea of
the amount of lives that are saved through their agency.
So that the best advice I can give to intending rearers, who
do not already possess an incubator, is to get one without
delay, and have it in readiness before the rearing season.

"If you keep your incubator only for hatching off chipped
eggs, as I prefer to do, you will require to see that the
thermometer in the drawer does not register more than loo^
Fahr. Otherwise you will find that when you have filled
the drawer with ' live ' eggs, you will have great difficulty
in keeping the heat at regulation point, viz., 103° to 104°.
If the drawer becomes too hot, a speedy way to cool it is
to draw it out altogether for a few minutes and keep it out
until the damper has fallen. Then screw down the lamp a
little. In practice I find that this is both better and quicker
than tampering with the regulator. I am, of course, presum-
ing that you have previously got your machine going perfectly
steady, and that the heat only rises above the normal with
the introduction of the ' live ' eggs. Fresh eggs have exactly
the opposite tendency, so that one would require to have
the heat regulated to at least 103° before introducing eggs
ro the drawer. I take it for granted that the user will not

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ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION

forget to keep water in the tray, nor yet to change it
frequently, and that he will not forget to turn the eggs every
day. In the case of chipped eggs, the chip wants to be
placed uppermost, otherwise you may find a few dead in
the shell, through the little one's bill protruding through to
the mat, and so being unable to turn round. Fresh eggs
I find are best turned by taking several handfuls of eggs
from the centre of the drawer, and allowing the others to
gently roll to the centre. I then place the ones I have
removed round the outer edges. Incubators are all, or nearly
all, fitted with a so-called drying chamber. In practice I find
it is much better to let the whole hatch dry off in the drawer,
and as soon as ever the little ones are quite dry and able to
stand up I have them removed and placed under previously
prepared hens, who are sitting on a bird or two each in close
proximity to the hatching house. Anything in the way of
a chill is fatal to birds at this stage. In about forty-eight
hours they can be safely removed, in a hot water-box, to
the rearing-field. Even after hatching is quite finished it
is a very wise plan still to keep one incubator going, for
there is no remedy ever I have discovered for reviving birds
that have wandered and got a chill like the drawer of an
incubator."

Mr Richard Hayes advocates his method as below : —

" The following is the method I have followed for a
considerable time with great and unwavering success. I take
it for granted at the usual time in the spring you will have
a sufficiency of eggs. Set under hens acquired for the
purpose, taking care to set them in batches about once a
week, to insure a certain quantity hatching simultaneously.
In the meantime you will make ready your incubator, placing

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

it perfectly level, in a room free from draughts, and in as

quiet a place as possible. Two or three days before eggs

are expected to chip you will start your incubator, bringing

up the temperature to 104°. We will now suppose the eggs

to be chipped. You will remove the bulk of them from

under the hens, only leaving a few with each hen to hatch

herself and keep her quiet. Place them in an incubator,

taking care not to disturb them until ready for the rearing-

field. You will know this by the eggs you have left under

the mothers. The only attention required by the incubators

is to attend to the lamp, and to keep the heat regularly up

to the 104°. By doing so you will insure strong chicks ; as

a rule with me they turn out stronger than those left with

the hen. Your hens will have now brought the ones

left under them. Count them up (you will already know

what you have in the incubator) and transfer them along

with their mothers to the coops in the rearing-field. As

soon as the hens have settled down, empty the incubator,

take chicks to coops and make batches up. The hens

will be perfectly quiet and make no demur. A lot of

attention is now required by these, as the chicks are apt to

get from under the hens and consequently chilled ; in such

cases place them again in the incubator until recovered.

I have saved many by these means. I prefer this method

of hatching to bringing out altogether under hens, as I

consider immediately after the eggs are chipped to be the

most critical time in the life of the chicks, many being

trampled to death in the sitting-boxes by excitable hens,

before they have fairly left the shells. You will now wash

out your incubator and make ready for the next batch of

eggs which will be at the point of chipping. Repeat the

process and so on through the season. You will frequently

find hens refusing to sit, after doing so for some time ; or

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ViVX

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION

again in hay-time, the mowing-machines play sad havoc
with both Pheasant and partridge nests. Here again the
incubator becomes invaluable, as you can place the eggs in
it until you get the required broody hen. One thing I have
omitted to mention, and that is to cover the slippery floor
of the egg box or drawer with a piece of wrapper or other
similar substance. This is a great help to the young chicks
in getting on to their feet. The egg shells should also be
left in, as they serve a similar purpose. These may seem
very trifling things to mention, but it is this attention to
minor details that leads to ultimate success."

Mr John Wills' essay was as follows : —

" When speaking of incubators a few years ago in the
presence of an old labourer who had not seen one he
seemed to be greatly interested, and after some time he
exclaimed, ' What be they things ? ' ' Oh ! ' I said, ' they
are machines for hatching chickens.' 'What!' he said, 'do
you mean to tell me you put eggs in a machine and turn a
handle and hatch out chickens ? ' When I tried to explain
that there was not any handle to turn, he said, ' Wall, tain't
a machine then.' And there are plenty of keepers who,
although not as bad as this man was, do not know what
a valuable aid an incubator is at hatching-time. We will
suppose we have a one hundred egg incubator which will hold
one hundred and eighty Pheasant eggs. The incubator room
should be situated, if possible, where the direct rays of the
sun will not shine into the room. Have a solid floor so
that the machine can be fixed firm and level, then start
the machine and regulate the heat in the drawer to 103°
steady heat. Now if we have not had any experience I
think it a good plan to try with a few hens' eggs. Even if
K 14s

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

we do not want to rear the chickens we shall get into the
way of regulating the machine. Supposing we have two
thousand eggs to put down by the 20th of May. Our
incubator will only hold one hundred and eighty at one time,
so we must set our eggs in the following way. On 26th
April we will set twelve hens on fifteen eggs each. Next
day put seventy eggs in the incubator with date marked on
them. The eggs under the hens will chip a few hours before
those in the machine, and when a sufficient number has
chipped they must be drawn out and put in the incubator,
and those in the incubator must be put under the hens till
those chipped are transferred to the drying box. You must
be careful to let each hen hatch one or more birds, or you
will find on taking them to the rearing-field that they will
not take them and will most likely brain the lot. After
the first two lots are set, we must follow with lots of
two hundred, as our incubator will be full enough. The
remaining space can be used if any hot eggs are brought
in and we have not a spare hen to take them. The birds
an incubator will save with careful management durino- the
hatching season will pay for itself, so I advise every keeper
to ofet one. I have stated two thousand as a guide, but
anyone can adapt the plan to their own particular circum-
stances. I think an incubator is just as valuable on a wild
shoot where wild birds only are expected. Make up a
good number of nests with two or three pot eggs to induce
the bird to lay in safe and convenient places. Do not
interfere with them until they become broody. Watch
them off, and replace their own eggs with the same number
of pot ones. The number of each nest and the date should
be recorded so as to know when each hen began to sit.
Some will lay a few eggs and then forsake. These eggs
with those found in dangerous places should be put in the

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ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION

incubator to hatch at the same time as some of the nests.
When the eggs begin to chip, put them in a warm water-
box wrapped in flannel. Go about an hour before sunset,
and from behind lift off the hen with a stick, and give her
fourteen or fifteen, according to the eggs you have, and in
about an hour's time have a look to see if she is still on all
right. If this is done quietly, the hen generally soon comes
back, and having all night to sit, goes off with a full brood.
I do not advise anyone to interfere with partridges, they
generally do better if left quietly alone. Finally I would
add, if you should have the misfortune, on going round
to feed your birds some cold or wet morning, to find that
they have squeezed out from under the coop (which some-
times happens if it is a rough bottom) and are nearly dead,
that the best place to bring them round is in the drawer
of an incubator."

Mr. William Sewell advocates the following method : —

"An incubator is one of the most useful thing's a o-ame-
keeper can have during catching and hatching time, and
unfortunate is the man who does not possess one, especially
when there is a large percentage of weakly chicks hatching
out. If only one incubator is in use, I think it should be
used solely for drying the birds which are not strong enough
to be taken to the field, and for finishing off the chipped
eggs which are in danger of being crushed by the sitting
hen. Often when nesting the keeper will accidentally flush
a sitting hen from her nest, and perhaps has no spare hen
under which to put the eggs. Then the first thing he thinks
of is the incubator, in which he places them until such time
as there is a hen to take them. It often happens that several
sitting nests are found. Then care should be taken not to

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

get them mixed, and when put in the incubator they should
be marked, so that each separate lot will be known, and no
complications result. When hens are hatching off it is very
seldom that all the chicks come out together, and some may
be strong and fit for the rearing-field, while others are only
strugfgflinof out of the shell. It would never do to let them
stay under the hen till all were fit, or in nine cases out of
ten serious results would happen by the hens trampling
them. Probably the best birds would be crushed. There
the drying box comes in useful, and all backward birds
should be placed therein, care being taken to keep them
warm while moving. In a few hours the majority of these
birds will be as strong as the others and ready to join them
under the old biddy on the field. While in the drying box
the lid should not be shut down close but be kept slightly
opened, just sufficient to give the chicks a little air. The
Incubator should be kept as near as possible at one heat,
about 104° or 105". This is rather difficult at times, as it is
often opened for the purpose of putting in or taking out
the chicks, and naturally it loses a certain amount of heat
each time it is opened. This, however, does not affect the
young birds as much as the eggs, which are nearly sure to
be in the drawer underneath, but the less an incubator is
opened the better. In a wet season the hens will sometimes
turn restless and take no notice of their young brood, with
the result that the little things get wet and draggled,
and, failing another good hen, would die but for the useful
incubator, in which they soon come round, and in a short
time are as lively as ever. Of course they need a mother
then, but there are sure to be other hens hatching off which
will take them, and occasionally I have known their former
mother to settle down quietly and take them again. If a
man has more incubators than he requires for drying off

148

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION

chicks, etc., he will naturally want to try his luck with cold
eggs, and in that case a little more attention is required.

" The incubator should stand perfectly true. This is
best accomplished by using a spirit level and placing thin
pieces of wood or cardboard under the bottom if necessary.
Then the lamp needs carefully looking to, and should be
filled and trimmed every morning, and when a steady heat
of 105° is attained the drawer may be filled with eggs.
These should be turned over every day. I find the best
way to do this is to put a cross or other mark on one side
of the egg. Then it is easily seen if it has been missed.
The best way to turn them is with the finger tips. Incu-
bation should be started at the same time when a large
batch of eggs are placed under hens, then when hatched
the chicks will come in useful for distributing among the
hens which have brought off a poor lot, and thus you will
insure good broods being placed on the rearing-field. Care
should be taken to keep the heat of the incubator always
at 105° or eggs may be spoiled. Once a day is quite
sufficient to interfere, and eggs will get the necessary airing
while the turning and lamp-trimming process is going on.
To make most use of an incubator would be to fill it with
eggs when the first lot of hens are set ; it would then come
in useful for the weakly chicks after, but for some reason a
good many do not do this. Perhaps they would expect
more to hatch off than there would be mothers for. That
would depend, however, on the fertility of the eggs and
the number of hens set."

149

CHAPTER XXIV

The Selection of Broody Hens

The practical game-rearer knows perfectly well that upon the
judicious selection of suitable hens for egg-hatching purposes
and the subsequent rearing of the chicks, his success mainly
depends. The artificial incubator and the artificial rearer
have, to a large extent in poultry rearing, supplanted the hen,
but game-rearers take a more conservative view of the
matter, relying principally upon the domestic fowl for the
successful raising of the Pheasant broods.

It is well that the majority of game-rearers are somewhat
conservative in their views, as it has yet to be shown in an
incontrovertible manner that the artificial foster-mother can
be utilised as a satisfactory substitute for rearing Pheasants.
A good deal of care must be exercised in purchasing broody
hens, otherwise subsequent events will in all probability show
any indiscretion that has been committed.

On some estates a sufficiency of fowls are kept for sit-
ting purposes, from which the keeper draws his supplies, as
the occasion demands ; whereas other keepers are entirely
dependent upon birds they purchase from cottages and farmers
in the locality. Or again some keepers merely hire the birds,
paying is. 6d. or 2s. for the hire during the rearing season.
Where a large head of Pheasants has to be reared, it neces-
sitates a good deal of resourcefulness on the part of the
keeper to obtain a sufficiency of broody hens to meet the
demands imposed upon him, though some hens will rear

ISO

THE SELECTION OF BROODY HENS

three broods in a single season, but commonly two. A
matter that has often given rise to a considerable amount of
discussion in connection with broody hens for sitting purposes
is that respecting the different variety of fowls for sitting
purposes, and every man is entitled to his^own opinion, some
keepers preferring one, others another variety, but there is
a consensus of opinion that the cross-bred or barn-door fowl
is one of the best for such
uses, provided that the
bird contains a proportion
of the Brahma cross.
Wyandottes, Orpingtons,
Indian Game and Ply-
mouth Rocks are all good
sitters as well as good
mothers, whilst Brahmas,
Cochins and Lanofshans
are early brooders, and sit

well, but they are inclined to be clumsy, consequently liable
to injure the young birds.

A variety of fowl that can with every confidence be
recommended is the Silkie, a native of the Far East, and it
would be profitable for Pheasant-rearers to cultivate more of
these birds. A Silkie will become broody when it has laid
about a dozen eggs, and will sit anywhere during this time
in a most patient manner.

A Silkie hen will cover about a dozen Pheasants' eggs,
and do the work of incubation as well as subsequendy tending
their young better than any other variety of fowls. They
never trample on the chickens, and rarely damage an e^g,
and they have more warmth in them in point of size than
most other fowls. Another advantage claimed for this
variety of fowl as brooders is that they will take to Pheasant

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PORTABLE PHEASANT AND POULTRY HOUSE

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

chicks belonging to another hen just as well as they do to
their own.

The hens weigh about 2 lbs., are pure white in colour,
whilst the skins are of a deep violet. The comb, the face
and the wattles are a reddish-purple, and the legs blue.

Although any poultry may become infested with lice,
likewise with scaly-leg, the author believes that Silkies are
freer from these troubles than any other species of domestic
fowl ; therefore, this alone is a strong recommendation for
the adoption of these birds whenever possible. In order to
have a good supply of Silkies, the head-keeper should
encourage cottagers to raise as many as they can, and this
can be done by supplying them with a sitting of eggs on
equitable terms. The Silkie is hardy, good-tempered, and
will flourish in the smallest of spaces, but it is a variety
that does not do well if exposed to too much wet, cold or
excessive heat.

The exigencies of circumstances may compel the game-
rearer to select broody hens of all sorts, shapes and sizes,
some of which will prove good, bad or indifferent sitters and
mothers, though there is one golden rule which cannot be
too strongly emphasised, and that is, select healthy, or
apparently healthy, brooders only.

Infestation with lice, scaly-leg, tuberculosis, roup, as well
as enteric, are the principal troubles that the game-rearer
must guard against. All these complaints have been referred
to under their several headings, in the chapters relating to
diseases, but it is necessary to recapitulate the salient features
indicative of such undesirable affections.

Scaly-leg is easily recognised by the disorganised con-
dition of the scales upon one or both of the legs. Roup will
be recognised by a discharge from the nose and a snuffling
sound in the breathing. Lice require to be carefully looked

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THE SELECTION OF BROODY HENS

for, especially on the under parts of the body, and the feathers
should be parted to see that the birds are free from this infes-
tation. A lousy broody hen will soon infect the brood, and
they will never thrive like they ought to do, as the poultry
louse causes a lot of irritation.

Tuberculosis is a wasting disease, and when fowls are
affected with it, they are generally very poor, feel light when
handled, and are lacking in vigour, their wings droop, and
they seem to hang about in an aimless sort of manner.

With reference to enteric, the game-rearer will almost
have to take his chance, as there is no method that can assure
him against the introduction of this deadly trouble, which is,
as every Pheasant-rearer knows, the most dreaded scourge,
or at any rate, this, and another trouble — gapes.

If fowls are selected where they have unlimited grass
runs, the risk of introducing enteric is greatly minimised ;
therefore, avoid selecting fowls where they are kept in a
dirty condition, with little freedom.

It is sometimes a difficult matter to ascertain whether
a hen really is broody, but the best means of doing so is to
go into the poultry house after the birds have gone to roost
and had time to settle down. A hen that is sitting on her
nest, at what may not inaptly be termed a late sitting, will
usually be found broody, but the author advises that all
selected hens should be carefully examined in a strong light
during the day-time, in order to see that they are perfectly
healthy.

Do not have anything to do with birds that are moulting,
as they are totally unsuitable for hatching purposes. In the
introduction of the broody hen to the nest, she should be put
in the hatching-house, where she can see the eggs, along
with some food and water, and she will soon accommodate by
sitting on the eggs. The best place for the nest-boxes is

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

one that is very quiet, warm, well-ventilated, free from
draughts, and rather dark. Each nest-box should be 18
inches high and 15 inches square, without a bottom, with
the top, back and sides of solid wood, so that in a row of
nest-boxes one hen will not disturb another. The sides
should have three holes drilled in them towards the roof,
and the front ought to be hinged so as to let down ; but
there must be a small board at the lower part of the front
to keep the eggs in position.

Some hatching-boxes have wire bottoms to them, others
have a wire pen attached, but whatever form of hatching-box
be used, it must be kept scrupulously clean, periodical
lime whitening being a sine qua non for successful hatching.
Do not forget that the hatching-box frequently proves to be
infested with lice, and a broody hen that is thus troubled
cannot possibly be a steady sitter.

Some game-rearers keep their broody hens shut up
during feeding-time, which in the author's opinion is a
mistake. They must be allowed out for food and water.

Daily cooling of the eggs is indispensable, and if the hen
is allowed ten minutes' recreation, the eggs will not take the
slightest harm, whereas in warm weather she may be allowed
out for a little longer. The best food for the sitting hen is
barley, maize, buckwheat, and a little green bone, with plenty
of grit and water. The best position for a nest-box is on
the floor, and in making a nest, take care that the corners
of it are well filled, but it must not be hollowed too much
on the ground.

When the hatching-boxes are in the open air they must
be so placed that neither excessive heat, nor rain, etc., will
interfere with incubation. Select a warm corner and place
the boxes on the level ground. Sand makes a very good
nest if it is properly shaped with the hands, and then lined

154

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s

w
X

■o
z

o
o

Z;
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THE SELECTION OF BROODY HENS

with a mixture of hay and leaves. There is no doubt that
a good deal depends upon the nest for successful incubation.
It must neither be too dry, nor yet too moist, both factors
being detrimental to the eggs or rather the embryos within.

Protection must also be afforded against rats and other
egg-stealers. Some keepers make the nest on the bare earth.
If the sitting-boxes have six compartments, and large broody
hens are selected, fifteen eggs may be set under each hen,
though sometimes more than this number is placed under
her. It is a mistake to set too many eggs, as the bird
cannot cover them properly, and those eggs on the outer
zone of the nest suffer from loss of heat, no matter however
careful one may be to shift them from one position to another.
A Silkie hen can cover from ten to twelve eggs, and this is
just about as many chicks as the mother can properly look
after, though upon this point opinions are divided. Very
large broods have been successfully hatched out, both under
natural and artificial conditions, but there is one matter upon
which most men are agreed in connection with Pheasant-
rearing, and that is that late nests of eggs do not, as a rule,
prove very satisfactory, and by a late nest the author means
one set in June.

A remarkable late hatching was recorded by Mr Walter
Jones, gamekeeper to Col. Arthur Turner, on whose estate
some young Pheasants about two days old, ten in number,
were observed on the 20th of September, the brood being
in a healthy condition. Such instances of late hatching,
though exceptional, are by no means rare, yet game-rearers
are not in favour of late broods, and this for multifarious
reasons. About the third week in May is quite late enough.

When eggs get broken in the nest they should be removed
and the rest of the eggs cleaned. Each sitting-box should
be numbered, and precisely the same remark applies to the

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

coops, so that the keeper can identify the various broods
together with the dates on which the eggs were set. The
number of eggs put down at one time varies, but for a single-
handed keeper from two hundred and fifty to three hundred
and fifty will be sufficient.

If cross-bred fowls are used, for three hundred and
fifty eggs not less than thirty broody hens should be pur-
chased, it being expedient to have an extra number to meet
emergencies.

Hens that refuse to leave the nest during sitting must
be gently lifted off. Plenty of materials for dusting, such
as dry sand, ashes, together with a small supply of green
food, are additional requisites when the sitters temporarily
leave their nests. When there are no feeding vards in
connection with the hatching-boxes, it is necessary to tether
the hens to pegs, about a yard apart, so as to prevent them
from fighting with each other, because broody hens are
nearly always quarrelling with each other when allowed
full liberty. One end of the tether is fastened to the fowl's
leg and the other to the peg, but care must be taken not
to have the loop on the leg too tight, otherwise damage will
be done. If a broody hen is inclined to forsake her eggs,
the best plan is to get rid of her, and either put the eggs
under other hens or substitute another broody hen.

It is not advisable to interfere with the eggs too much,
but one can assist nature by the e.xercise of tact. Frequent
handling of the eggs is decidedly injurious, and so is constant
testing of them. They can be tested on the eighth or tenth
day, and all clear eggs removed ; but a broody hen does not
like to be continually disturbed by man. If she is at all
uneasy she should be lifted off the nest and given a good
dusting with some flowers of sulphur and then replaced.

In some game-rearing establishments the sitters are

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THE SELECTION OF BROODY HENS

allowed to go on and off their nests whenever they like,
and whilst this has its advantages, it has its disadvantages.
During dry weather it is a good plan to sprinkle the eggs
with a little lukewarm water daily, though some only do so
during the last week of incubation.

Pheasants' eggs ought to chip on the twenty-third day
after they have been put down, and when they do so they
can, as advised, be removed to the incubator to complete the
delivery of the chick from its shell. When assistance is
required it must be done very carefully, otherwise the chick
will be killed. In the hatching of Pheasants' eggs, method is
on the part of the keeper an indispensable part of the work,
and not only must the rearer be methodical, but he must
be systematic, and in order to fulfil these commissions a
daily record of the work is an indispensable factor and one
that proves of invaluable service for future reference.

Successes and failures should be recorded, and deductions
are then easier to make.

157

CHAPTER XXV

The Feeding and Management of Pheasant Chicks

The consideration of the rearing-field, as far as the best
sites for such are concerned and various other matters con-
nected therewith, have been dealt with in another chapter,
whilst the best means of protecting the young birds against
their multifarious enemies on the rearing-field has been dis-
cussed elsewhere in the work, so that, in the present chapter,
the author will mainly direct his remarks to the feeding of
the birds, together with the discussion of the most suitable
foods employed for such purposes.

The coops must be so arranged that there is sufficient
between one and another to prevent intermingling of the
separate broods, whereas if they are close together, one hen
will sometimes get the chicks from other broods, and in this
way have a following of forty or fifty after her, which she
is quite incapable of sheltering.

The presence of insect life and grit are indispensable for
the rearing of young Pheasants, and on rearing-fields that
are deficient in insectivora, it is necessary to supply the young
birds with some substitute, such as ants' eggs, supplies of
which can be obtained from dealers in game food requisites.
Each nest of chicks as soon as hatched should be noted in
the keeper's pocket-book, and its transference to the coops
on the rearing-field similarly noted, so that the keeper can
at once ascertain full particulars concerning any particular
brood, such as the number of chicks hatched, subsequent
deaths, etc.

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FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS

A warm dry day should be selected for the purpose of
transference, and when a number are hatched simultaneously,
they may be all put together and equally divided amongst
their foster-parents in the coops. No food will be required
for at least twelve hours, and each of the coops should be
so arranged that they are neither exposed to cold winds nor
to excessive heat. If the coops have been placed out in dry
weather and the grass is short, the author believes that no
flooring of any kind is necessary, though some keepers use
mats, others chaff, wooden floors, and so forth, but from
a hygienic point of view, the best material for the floor of
a coop is cork, it having three distinct advantages over any
other material, viz., that it is damp-proof, porous, and easier
to clean than any other form of flooring.

Cork squares, exactly the size of the coop, can be obtained,
though of course must not be permanently fixed to the coop,
otherwise such will become insanitary.

Give each hen a full brood, and if mats are used they
must be removed and cleansed daily. When the chicks are
first put in the coop, say in the morning, it is a wise plan to
close the shutter of the coop until the evening, as this
facilitates the mother and chicks settling down. In passing
it is worthy of mention that coops are manufactured in a
variety of forms. The simplest ones and those most gener-
ally in use have bars at the front, with either a sliding or a
drop front, so as to shut up the chicks at night and protect
them against nocturnal depredations.

Some coops have a small wire run attached, and there is
no doubt that these are much healthier for the chicks than
the coops so commonly in use ; moreover, they are protective,
the chief objection to them being the expense. Useful forms
of keeper's coops, with sliding roofs and shutters, can be
obtained for about ^3 per dozen. A coop should be

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

about 2 feet square, i8 or 20 inches height in front, and
not less than i foot in height at the back. However, a
selection of coops is a matter for individual consideration,
the principal item being to shift them frequently, to keep
them thoroughly clean, to place them on even ground, to
arrange them so that they shall have the best exposure for
light and warmth, as well as affording the chicks protection
against their foes.

There is one factor that must never be ignored in con-
nection with the rearing of Pheasants, and that is to keep
a sharp look-out for any sickly birds which may form the
starting-point of a fatal epidemic. The most economical
plan is to destroy any ailing birds at once, and burn the
bodies. Regularity in feeding, suitability of food, its fresh
preparation each time, a supply of insect life and grit, and
an absolute regard for cleanliness, constitute the fundamental
principles upon which successful Pheasant-rearing is based.

Dirty coops, fouling of the ground, unsuitable food,
irregular feeding, and stale food, constitute the surest
channels for provoking the onset of disease, which, when
once established, is bound to end in disappointment.

Another matter must not be overlooked, though
quite beyond the control of the keeper, and that is the
weather. A wet season is a bad one for Pheasant chicks,
more especially if the rearing ground has been used in
successive seasons, or grazed by calves or lambs affected
with husk or hoose. It is on such a rearing-field that gapes
will most likely become prevalent, and every keeper who
knows anything about Pheasant-rearing does not give
a very hearty welcome to a trouble of this kind. {See
Gapes.)

The proper ventilation of the coops must not be over-
looked, and the author considers that the keepers do not

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FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS

pay sufficient attention to this matter. If a coop is shut
up at night, it ought to be provided with proper ventilation,
as no birds will ever thrive when they are compelled to
inhale for hours air that has been practically poisoned by
their own breathing. As previously stated, the open-air
coop, with covered-in run attached, if produced at a reason-
able price, is the sort that ought to be used, provided that
it is made portable, light and easy of transference from one
part of the rearing-field to another. A fault with some
gamekeepers is that they allow their coops to remain too
long on one site. Coops should be shifted daily.

Healthy Pheasant chicks ought to grow like cucumbers,
and, given sound stock to start with, and proper feeding,
serious losses ought not to occur. Every Pheasant-rearer
is bound to have a certain number of weakly chicks as well
as a certain number of deaths, both being features inseparable
from the art of Pheasant-rearing, but when chick after chick
begins to die, the keeper should make an effort to ascertain
the cause and cut short the loss in its initial stages.

For the first three days. Pheasant chicks should be fed
four times per day, commencing the first feed early in the
morning, say at six o'clock, and subsequent feeds at intervals
of three hours, the last one being at a corresponding time
to the morning feed. These hours of feeding should be
continued until the chicks are a fortnight old, when they may
be slightly modified, the first feeding in the morning being
given at seven o'clock, and subsequently every three hours,
up to the end of the second month, when it will only be
necessary to feed three times a day, namely, early morning,
midday and early evening, the last feed being given before
the chickens begin to go to roost.

Regularity of feeding is a sine qua non, therefore the
keeper must always endeavour to be up to time in this

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

respect. Considerable differences of opinion exist as to
what should constitute the food of Pheasant chicks from the
time that they are placed in the coops until they are finally
severed from their foster-parents at the covert side.

With Pheasants reared under perfectly natural conditions,
the keeper has little concern, but artificial rearing necessitates
the selection of such foods as approximate the food obtained
by Pheasants living in a wild state.

All game food manufacturers make a speciality of Pheasant
foods suitable for chicks from the time they are hatched
up to the time that the birds are placed in the covert, like-
wise subsequeutly from the latter period until they require no
further feeding, that is until they fall to the gun of the
sportsman.

Two systems of feeding are adopted, one known as
the dry method and the other the wet one, each having
their advocates, though the one most generally employed
is the wet system of feeding ; not that wet food is supplied
to Pheasant chicks, but food that is slightly moist and given
to them in a granulated form.

From within the first twelve hours after incubation, some
form of egg food is universally employed, as eggs contain
all the constituents or provide materials essential for their
growth. The albuminous material of eggs consists of the
elements oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, sulphur and
phosphorus, united together in such proportions as to form
a food easy of assimilation, provided that such properties are
not destroyed by over-cooking.

Very few keepers or game - rearers attempt to rear
Pheasants without use of eggs, though they can be reared,
as proved by the vigorous growth of wild birds, without
such food.

There is a popular but erroneous notion that eggs

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FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS

should be hard boiled before being given to the chicks.
That this is fallacious is proved by the successful rearing
of Pheasants on eggs that are without any cooking whatso-
ever, being merely mixed with the other food.

Strictly speaking it is a matter of very little indifference
in what form eggs be given, provided that they are fresh,
there being a chemical change in decomposing eggs that
renders them pernicious when given to Pheasant chicks.
The only effect that heat has upon eggs is that of coagulating
the albuminous material and solidifying the yolk.

If the rearer prefers to boil the eggs, they should not, as
previously stated, be over-boiled. Sour food, or food that
is too wet, is very liable to produce scouring, and once this
is established, it is troublesome to check. Some rearers
prefer to solidify the eggs with milk into custard form, and
mix this along with the other food when it is cold. Again,
another class of Pheasant-rearers are strongly in favour
of curd made from milk, the latter being curdled with alum,
which is a most objectionable drug to use, as it completely
destroys the intestinal secretion and hinders digestion, as well
as destroys the nutritive value of the milk.

Although not a natural diet for the Pheasant chicks, there
is no doubt that milk is a valuable addition to their food, as
it contains such a large proportion essential to the life of
mammals, and is in a modified sense, a food for birds.
Custard is easily made by adding six eggs to every pint
of milk. The eggs should be beaten up, and cold milk
then added, and gently heated until it is quite thick, and
it will solidify into a solid mass when cold. When cold the
custard should be broken up and mixed with some meal,
preferably with fine biscuit-meal, which has been previously
scalded in order to swell it. If biscuit-meal is not used, very
fine barley-meal, oat-meal, wheat- meal, or maize-meal can

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

be substituted, only all the meals must be scalded before
mixing with the egg food, but must never be made into
a paste, the best form to give it being in a finely divided
granulous state, to obtain which some Pheasant-rearers pass
it through a sieve.

The egg food should be given in the proportions of one
to six of the meal.

The author considers that a most valuable adjunct to
a Pheasant chick's food is chopped-up lettuces, dandelion
leaves or onions, but only a small proportion of green food,
certainly not more than one part to every twenty, ought
to be allowed, otherwise the chicks will be affected with scour.
The green food contains large proportions of water, so that
very little water will be required beyond that contained in
the food.

Earlier on in this chapter the author recommended that
the chicks be fed four times per day, but where trouble and
additional expense have not to be troubled about, it will be
found advantageous to feed the chicks every two hours for
the first fortnight. A few split groats added to the food
will be found beneficial, or crushed hemp-seed can be
substituted. Up to the period named, there need be no
alteration, either in the composition of the food or the
frequency of the feeding, the only matter being to increase
the quantities of food. Immediately after the chicks are
fed, any food that remains behind should be removed, and
make a practice not to prepare more food than is neces-
sary each time. Whatever surplus there is let the broody
hens clear it off. Scald the dishes each time before they
are used again.

A supply of grit and water should be allowed, and if the
water is not absolutely necessary, finely divided grit is,
and the older the chicks become the more the necessity

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FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS

for grit. Invaluable adjuncts to Pheasant chick's food is
canary seed and white millet seed. The cost of the first
named is usually about fifteen shillings per bushel, and the
latter twelve shillings, but in giving these seeds it is not
advisable to mix them with the other food, but scatter them
freely around the coops, so as to give the chickens employ-
ment, in other words to "forage" for their food. If no eggs
are used, the foregoing seeds along with ants' eggs and
biscuit-meal, or some other form of meal, must be used
instead.

After the first fortnight there will be no necessity to give
the food in such a finely divided state, and the eggs can be
gradually withdrawn, as every keeper knows that these are
a most expensive item in connection with Pheasant-rearing,
therefore they ought to be dispensed with as soon as ever
such can be economically done. Biscuit-meal or other meal
can be of a coarser character, and a little more green food
may be used. Boiled rice, with a very small portion of
mutton greaves added, would be suitable, but avoid giving
too much greaves, there being in the author's opinion no
more pernicious material than greaves in excess. The moral
is to give this food most sparingly. If boiled rice is used,
put the rice into boiling water, so that when it is cold, the
particles of rice will be whole, instead of a starchy mass,
as usually happens, when the water and the rice have been
boiled together.

Another matter of importance is not to allow the rice
to burn. Maize flour and barley flour are very useful when
added to the food.

Most of the game food firms sell biscuit-meal in two
grades as well as other special foods for chickens, and as
these are largely used by keepers in the rearing of Pheasants,
it follows that they are particularly suitable for such purposes,

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

though, of course, every keeper has his preference in this
matter. Gentles or maggots are highly esteemed as a food
for chicks, and there are various methods of obtaining a
supply of these ; but where insect life is abundant on the
rearing-field, such natural food has advantages over that
artificially supplied.

Maggots can be obtained from either seaweed or flesh.
If seaweed is used it must be placed in a heap and allowed
to rot for a fortnight. The maggots can be cleaned by
placing them in sand and bran, then gently heating them
on an iron shovel over the fire when they are ready for
feeding the birds. But even maggots must be given with
discrimination.

Two parts of maize-meal, one of wheat and one of
oats, mixed with hot water and allowed to swell for a couple
of hours before feeding, is a capital food.

If feeding boards are placed in front of the coops, these
should be scalded every day.

As a substitute for eggs and milk, dried yolk of eggs
and dried milk can be employed, and when these are
mixed with biscuit - meal, stale bread, rice, or any other
meals mentioned, a really serviceable article of dietary is
provided, and one that healthy Pheasant chicks ought to
thrive on.

As showinsf some of the constituents of various meals,
etc., used in Pheasant-rearing, the author appends an analysis
of these, shown in tabular form : —

Barley-meal

Water

II. I

Carbo-hydrates .

. 34.8

Mineral Salts

. . 5-7

Fats or Oils

4-9

Fibre of Husk

• 3'-9

Albuminoids

. II.6

FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS

Oat-meal

Water

. lo-s

Carbo-hydrates

• 52-2

Mineral Salts

. 6.8

Fats or Oils

4-S

Fibre of Husk .

• 14-5

Albuminoids

. II. s

Rice-meal

Water

. 11-5

Carbo-hydrates .

• 63.3

Mineral Salts

5-3

Fats or Oils

7-3

Fibre of Husk

2.7

Albuminoids

9.9

Wheat Flour

Water

12.6

Carbo-hydrates .

• 73-0

Mineral Salts

0.7

Fats or Oils

r.2

Fibre of Husk .

0.7

Albuminoids

. II. 8

Grains and Seeds

Maize

Water .

. 14-4

Carbo-hydrates .

62.1

Mineral Salts

i-S

Fats or Oils

. 6.5

Fibre of Husk .

5-5

Albuminoids

10. 0

Barley

Water

14.0

Carbo-hydrates .

. 66.1

Mineral Salts

2.7

Fats or Oils

2-3

Fibre of Husk .

4-9

Albuminoids

lO.O

Buck-wheat

Water

14.0

Carbo-hydrates .

• 58-7

Mineral Salts

1.8

Fats or Oils

1-5

Fibre of Husk .

• 15-0

Albuminoids

. 9.0

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

Dari-seed

Water

Mineral Salts
Fibre of Husk .

. 3-1°
1.6

• 3-9

Carbo-hydrates .
Fats or Oils
Albuminoids

. 61.S
■ iS-o

Millet

Water

Mineral Salts
Fibre of Husk

■ I3-0
1.6

3-9

Carbo-hydrates .
Fats or Oils
Albuminoids

. 61.5

5-'

. 15-0

Hemp-seed

Water

Mineral Salts
Fibre of Husk .

12.3

4.4
22.0

Carbo-hydrates .
Fats or Oils
Albuminoids

. 15-0
. 30- '
. 16.3

Acorns

Water

Mineral Salts
Fibre of Husk .

56.0

I.O

• 4-S

Carbo-hydrates .
Fats or Oils
Albuminoids

• 34-S
1.6

2-5

Cow's milk contains 87 per cent, of water, 5 per cent,
of carbo-hydrates, 3 per cent, of fat, and 3 per cent, of
albuminoids.

Potatoes contain 75 per cent, of water.

Lettuces contain 95 per cent, of water.

Cabbages contain about 90 per cent, of water, and carrots
85 per cent.

From the foregoing analysis it will be gleaned that the
carbo-hydrates and albuminoids, as well as the fats, are the
principal constituents of food.

Concerning the feeding of Pheasants, the following
remarks are those of a keeper, and being of a very practical
character, the author has pleasure in reproducing the
paragraphs from the Gamekeeper.

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A Keeper s Opinion on Feeding Young Pheasants

"It is astonishing how few keepers take the trouble to
think out for themselves a system of feeding young
Pheasants. The usual way is to do just as others did before,
and to follow the old methods. Many of them never take
into account any peculiarities of climate, soil, kind of produce
on surrounding fields, quantity and quality of such produce,
the many differences of the seasons as they come and go,
sometimes even being more conspicuous by the absence of
their usual accompaniments of heat, cold, moisture, insect
life, etc. Of course, it needs intelligence in reading, study,
comparison of books, reasoning out writers' opinions, one's
own observation, experiments, conversation with others,
exercising one's own originality in ideas, adopting new
methods, studying sciences which might indirectly affect the
subject in question, as the geology of the district, and other
means of obtaining the best results. One finds many a
keeper feeding his birds in cold, wet weather, and making no
difference between wet and dry or cold and hot seasons
which occur at the same periods of the year in different years.
No one ought to expect that the same methods will answer
satisfactorily to suit different requirements in feeding and
rearing young Pheasants as in treating other things in natural
or artificial life. Some alteration of treatment must surely
be necessary under different circumstances. One must adapt
oneself to one's surroundings and become master of one's
circumstances and not allow circumstances to master us and
render us like straws floating on the ocean. Any practical
man will very soon learn what is really wanted on different
rearing-fields, for such fields differ very much in supplying
natural food for young Pheasants. There has been a great
deal of talk and writing during the last few years about what

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it costs to rear young Pheasants. One point is clear to all
intelligent minds, that is, no hard-and-fast line can be laid
down as to what Pheasants should be fed upon during the
four seasons of the year. From my experience I find that
the cost in some seasons may not be above half what it is in
the same seasons in different years. Take, for instance, the
year 1907, when we had such a poor partridge season.
People seemed positive in affirming that it was a disease
among the partridges, but the conclusion I came to after
hearing different statements and observing for myself was,
that the partridges and wild Pheasants were simply starving
for lack of insect life. Those, especially keepers, who
remember that particular season sufficiently well to recall the
state of affairs then, will no doubt be able to call to mind
that fact that, until September set in, there was a marked
deficiency in insect life, and then we were simply inundated
with swarms of the insectivorae, so much so, that it was
remarked how the engines of railway trains were covered
with swarms of flies. Therefore, I may confidently affirm
that during the absence of insect life that year, the Pheasants
obtained nothing of a substantial flesh-forming and vitality-
producing nature except that which chanced to be given
them by those who endeavoured to keep alive as many as
they could. Scientists tell us that without a certain amount
of proteid or albuminous food no animal life is able to exist
for any length of time. Professor Gawgee, in his lectures on
human food, said confidently, 'Without proteid we die.'
He had shown what constituted real nourishment, for
starchy, sugary, gummy, and fatty foods alone will not
sustain the life of either man, beast or bird. We may note
the harmful results to those of our own kind, and there are
many persons whose chief foods are white bread, butter, fat
bacon, potatoes, pastry, suet dumplings and tea. The only

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FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS

redeeming feature about their diet is the occasional week-day-
lump of cheese or a Sunday milk pudding, which perhaps is
preceded by a small allowance of indigestible ham, pork or
hard beef, or bacon a little leaner than usual, and maybe an
egg in summer when they are plentiful.

" I may say that my feeding account during that particular
season ran up very considerably beyond its usual limit, for I
was obliged to have recourse to feeding with eggs. Keepers
differ with regard to the question of egg-feeding as to
whether these oft-times expensive items are really necessary.
I am acquainted with the fact that some keepers make eggs a
staple part of their feed during the whole season. This I
believe to be an unnecessary expense. But it is useless to
disclaim entirely against the use of eggs, for men of science
tell us that a chick, before it leaves the egg, absorbs all the
yolk. This yolk is partly cooked by the hen sitting on the
eggs, but it is not then exactly in the hard-boiled state in
which we use it generally. It is advisable and necessary, no
doubt, to give Pheasants eggs, for a piece of yolk will always
tempt them to pick when nothing else seems to do so. Some
keepers do not give eggs hard boiled after the first few days,
but they simply use them in their raw state as part of the
necessary moisture with which to mix the food up.

" While I am upon the egg question, I should like to say I
think one egg to twenty birds is about the proper proportion
of this very concentrated proteid food to be used in their diet,
and by the time that they are a week old I always give them
in the proportion of only one egg to about thirty birds.

" It is an open question at present how much flesh-forming
food is really necessary on an average for the healthy
maintenance of animal existence, vitality and vigour, as the
amount seems to vary according to weather and circum-
stances. However, it is a great mistake (at least in bird

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feeding) not to use sufficient heat-giving, energy-producing,
and filling-up material in the form of starchy foods as cereals,
or meals, or other cooked preparations, also other seeds
which are the natural foods of the feathered creation, for
only birds have gizzards or ' mills ' in their digestive organs.
Oils and fatty foods which are two and a half times the
power, weight for weight, of the starches, sugars, etc., in
giving heat and energy, are necessary for lubricating the
joints and digestive organs and for keeping open the bowels,
also for stimulating the nervous system to nourish itself

" Proteid food will sustain life if used alone so that it
contains bone-forming phosphates and salts for the young
and growing individuals of the animal creation, but by itself
it seems to lack the ' filling-up ' bulk which seems necessary
to give the 'satisfied' feeling to the stomach, at least in
mankind, while without vigorous exercise out of doors it
certainly causes costiveness if used excessively or alone.
With regard to the proportion of food constituents, I believe
in the end it will be found that different treatment, and that
almost indefinitely, is better ; still, of course, an average may
then be taken of a large number of cases.

" Pheasant chick foods are sold by game food dealers, and
perhaps these foods might be materially improved by the
addition of such special seeds as these birds love to pick,
such as the acrid, biting, irritating seeds of buttercups,
common arum (or cuckoo-fruit, or ' lords and ladies '), also
pilewort and others to which an observant keeper may
see them help themselves in the height of the seeding
season.

Many of these seeds seem absolutely useless to other
living creatures, although they are useful in certain medicines
for our own kind. These seeds may add to or take the
place of other seeds in the already prepared dry chick foods

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according to the constituents they may be found to contain if
analysed as all foods should be.

" I have used certain chick foods for the last seven or
eight years with beneficial results, and I am of opinion,
although some may perhaps not agree with me, that a dry
chick food might be prepared specially to rear Pheasants on
the same footing as chickens are reared. If some of our
large wealthy chick-food firms, or agricultural colleges, or
both in co-operation, would only experiment on a scientific
basis with which they are acquainted, using the birds' own
special feed foods that I have named, and adding also the
verifying safeguard of observation to their efforts, we should
be able to solve more definitely, and consequently more
satisfactorily, the question of how much it would cost to rear
Pheasants, and also perhaps how cheaply it might be done,
for by using thus a dry chick food, in uniform proportions,
with or without eggs, as the case might be, according to the
supply of insect life, we at least might compute the average
cost. Perhaps it might even be arranged that certain insects
could be captured and dried for Pheasants and chicks, as is
done for certain cage-birds, and as the locusts and large grass-
hoppers are caught and dried in hot countries for human food,
then even the natural insect food could be artificially supplied
in case of need, as dry clover meal is supplied for fowl feed-
ing, which is a flesh-producer in their case, besides being a
'vegetable' food even if it is 'dried.' Few of us are aware
of the new firms which successfully dry green vegetables for
the use of mankind in winter. Here again some of our
feathered stock might reap a benefit, and a home industry be
encouraged, also a rural occupation be increased as well as
promoted. I shall speak of ' fresh ' green Pheasant food
further on. Even in this case, as I said before, a great deal
depends on the rearing-field.

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" With regard now to the hours of feeding during the day.
I always think that at intervals of four hours is sufficient ;
some say every three hours. I should say the latter course
would suit better in cold weather. Old-fashioned people
said, ' Children and chicken will always be picking.' But
then the chickens' picking was what they hunted for them-
selves. In the case of that which we supply them with, it is
certainly not beneficial to give it at too short intervals. And
even then it is a great point to give just a bare sufficiency at
each time of feeding, neither too much nor too little. It is
similar to feeding fowls if the food is given them a little at
a time and they are made to run about for it, then when
they cease to be anxious to run, you cease to scatter food, it
will soon be discovered how much is needed and also how
much waste may be prevented.

"This brings me to another point in feeding. Personally,
I find a great difficulty in my helpers from time to time ; they
often do not intelligently graduate the amount of the prepared
food they are sharing at the moment to satisfy the require-
ments of all the coops they must supply at the one meal. They
throw out heavily to the first few coops, then suddenly realise
that they must ' draw rein ' and reduce for the rest, because
they begin to see their food disappearing too fast, and even
then the last few poor coops have to go without a share
of that prepared food, and the upshot is that they must visit
the dry meal store again, and carry food to the remainder
that is only half prepared, and if there are no eggs ready
boiled, these last poor birds get no substantial food. The
helpers also do not graduate the handfuls for the varying
numbers of birds in each coop, but serve all coops alike, and
all this is of course without taking any note as to whether the
birds in the several coops have any peculiarities. This last
point, I am afraid, must as a rule often be left to take care of

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itself in these hurrying days. However, in my opinion, it is
also a point of importance. I always make it a rule to direct
my helpers to change the order of visiting the coops, and to
commence alternately at the opposite end of the arrange-
ment of the coops, and not begin at the same coop each time,
so thus attempt to equalise matters to a great extent. Of
course, we see that the middle ones get served the most
regularly and systematically even then.

" Now with regard to water for young Pheasants. Of
course, again a great deal depends on the rearing-field,
whether the grass is long or short. In fields of short grass it
might be needful to use water. I have tried both ways. I
have used water for successive seasons, and I have reared
season after season without water, and I really fail to see
which is best. However, during very hot dry weather
in the seasons when I did not use water I had carried a
garden watering-can, with a rose on the spout of course,
and the finer holed it is the better, and I have just lightly
sprinkled the grass in front of and around the coops. Naturally
in dry weather the feed ought always to be given in a more
moist condition, and in wet weather vice versa, but to those
who decide to use water regularly, I should like to say I find
it very beneficial to place a little alum in the water, as I
always find alum thus used will prevent gapes.

"In preparing Pheasants' food I think it is very beneficial
to add a little bone-meal to every feed from the commence-
ment, as I find that young Pheasants thus supplied from the
first are very rarely attacked with that terrible disease cramp.
In fact, the use of bone-meal is a cure for cramp, or perhaps
I should rather say prevention, for it is of no use to wait till
the birds have already contracted cramp and then beo-in the
usual dosing with bone-meal, for they are then in too weak a
state to assimilate but the smallest amount. Then another

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point is that grit must accompany bone-meal. Older birds will
see that they obtain sufficient grit to keep their gizzards right,
but young birds cannot do this, so we must supply them with it.

" Another thing I always like to see is that Pheasants are
well supplied with plenty of fresh greens ; watercress is the
finest of all, for it contains iron in the best form for assimila-
tion, besides being slightly pungent, as all cresses are. How-
ever, cabbage, lettuce, mustard and cress, and any other
oreen salads and tender vegetable leaves, are all good, and
they may always be obtained from the kitchen gardens
belonging to the hall on the estate.

" I have mentioned the point of giving each coop just
sufficient for the appetites of the birds it contains. This
needs care and close observation, for the birds, it must be
remembered, are wild, but it will repay the trouble. I believe
many failures may be traced to the over-supplying of food, for
if food is over-supplied some of it of course will be uneaten,
and will lie in the hot sunshine and ferment ; then it will
perhaps be eaten in a sour state by the birds if they become
huno-ry before next feeding-time, thus causing trouble by
developing putrescent fermentation. In point of fact, I have
occasionally noticed in connection with this statement some
froth around birds' beaks, as if the poor things had eaten
yeast. Dr Joseph Wallace asserts that 'fermentation is the
primary cause of disease.'

" Another thing, I always like to see food prepared ready

to give the birds before the coops are opened to release them,

so that they may not pick up all sorts of over-night foods which

are certain then to be very sour, if there should be any on the

ground, to satisfy their hunger before you have time to supply

the sweet, fresh morning food. Of course, I might mention

that in non-fox-hunting countries it is not needful to coop up

Pheasants at all at night.

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FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS

" With regard to the hour of cooping them, we will say
9 P.M., with the last feed at 6 p.m. ; and as to the morning
liberation, any keeper watching his wild charges in the small
hours of the summer mornings will see the hens cautiously
leading forth their respective broods as early even as 5 a.m.
So here again comes in the fact that these birds are the wild,
free denizens of the country game fields and captivity is un-
natural to them, so they will chafe and fret under it, and the
keeper late on his ground will assuredly lose his birds.

" As birds get older, I may say that with judgment the
food must begin to be adapted more to adult needs, so that
eggs are discontinued and greaves substituted, which of course
will have to be mixed with rice and other starchy constituents
to prevent diarrhoea. For the last feed at night, if boiling
water is poured on to some dry grain and covered with a
sack so as to imprison the steam, it will be in a nice soft con-
dition. Of course, boiling the grain is best, but often time is
very limited to allow much of that rule to be followed. Birds
are thus gradually adapted to the adult food of hard corn and
raw natural seeds by the time they are about a month to six
weeks' old. At the present time there are many good dry
chick foods which greatly facilitate this last operation before
they are set free in their natural habitat — the woods."

There is no denying the advantages of supplying all in-
gredients comprising the food of young Pheasants thoroughly
scalded, or cooked for preference, particularly while the broods
are young, although it is hardly necessary to prepare them in
this way after the birds are half grown. If an ingredient is
scalded it should be allowed time to soak completely through,
for biscuit-meal is often used without the precaution being
observed, with the consequence that each nodule contains a
hard core very indigestible. Greaves and other dried meals
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are seldom properly softened right through, and a food pre-
pared thus can hardly be described as perfect. Always allow
scalded material time to cool, as the digestive organs of young
Pheasants can only be weakened by being scalded also. A
reasonable interval should elapse after the preparation of a
feed before it is scattered to the broods ; it is not necessary to
leave it so long that fermentation sets in, but a sufficient time
for the whole to become imbued with the different flavour-
ing ingredients which every rearer employs to tempt the
birds' appetites. The flavour of the greaves will also permeate
the whole mass if it is covered over in the feeding vessel,
and then there will be less picking and choosing on the part of
the birds. Food permitted to become stale after mixing is
supposed to be exceedingly harmful to the birds if fed with
it, but it is nothing like so injurious as that which has also
fermented. The latter is positive poison, and the effects of
having eaten it soon make themselves apparent in the birds.

It should not be forgotten that the ingredients may be
stale before the food is mixed, and in that case the prepara-
tion when ready to give the birds cannot be otherwise. The
greatest care should be observed to see that all materials are
fresh when delivered, the local miller being a great sinner in
that respect. The meal he supplies may have been a long
time ground, or the corn originally mildewed or stale. He is
hard to convince of the stern necessity of supplying only the
freshest meals prepared from dry, sound cereals, and imagines
that what will not kill a pig is good enough for young
Pheasants.

At first it is very little that the chicks require, and nothing
is to be gained from over-feeding them. Always throw down
their food within reach of the hen, for she will not only do her
best to teach them to eat, but also clear up any left over, and
where this plan is followed there is little risk of the chicks

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consuming stale food. It is somewhat difficult to estimate
what the appetites of the young Pheasants will enable them to
consume during the first ten days. They really require very
little, and if one has been so fortunate as to capture a few flies
it will ignore the artificial supplies for a meal at least. So do
not be alarmed if a chick fails to feed with, or as heartily as
the rest ; it has probably had a feed of something which will
do it much more good.

It is a great mistake to feed so heavily that the chicks do
not need to search for natural insect food. On some rearing-
fields the feeds are so liberal, and follow each other in such quick
succession, that the broods are never inclined in the least to
search after other food. Slight hunger will cause them to
range, and even if they get few insects the exercise has most
beneficial effect. Overfed birds linger drowsily around the
coop, their droppings accumulating on a small area, the inside
of the coop getting filthy, and in that way disease is engendered.
However adapted the field may be for rearing Pheasants there
is certain to be insect life upon it to some extent, and while
this is available the broods should be fed so that they take
advantage of it, such fare being very beneficial to them during
the first weeks of their existence. Later on, insect life will
be more or less extinct, and then increased supplies of artificial
food will not only be advisable but necessary.

A healthy Pheasant chick, properly fed and treated, is
either cosily tucked beneath the hen or ranging eagerly and
merrily after natural food. A sickly one is neither inclined to
range nor content to stay beneath the foster-mother, but sits
drowsily outside the coop and is by no means a pleasant
object to the rearer's eye.

Rearers have of late recognised the necessity of paying
every attention to fowls in charge of broods of Pheasajits,
although at one time they met with little consideration.

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However, the welfare of the chicks is closely linked with that
of their foster-mother, as an ailing, hungry or thirsty fowl
will be anything but an attentive mother. Should she be
fretful and worried, her chicks meet with scant courtesy.
The rearer should not too strictly adhere to the system of
moving coops to a fresh site once a day only. A look round
should always be taken early each evening to ascertain if any
hen has fouled her coop since it was shifted, it being most
unwise to confine the brood with such filth all through the
ensuing night. Watch the fowls closely to see if any are
attacked by scour, for if this is not at once stopped there will
be losses amongst the brood. A hen inclined to be the least
loose should not be removed from the sitting-boxes to the
rearing-field, her condition being often the forerunner of an
attack of enteric. When coops are being shifted be careful
that the hen's legs and feet are not injured, especially at first,
when she has not become accustomed to the process. Coops
are sometimes dragged along so hastily that the most alert
hen cannot avoid her toes being crushed and legs bruised,
and how can she afterwards be expected to hover her brood
steadily and properly. Probably she is suffering acute pain
which forces her to change her position frequently, and then
rearers wonder that members of her family are trodden upon
and crushed. The writer has often pitied poor old fowls,
shuffling awkwardly along in a fast-moving coop, endeavour-
ing to save their poor legs from injury, and if such a process
is characteristic of the rest of the procedure on a rearing-field,
it is cause for wonder that any birds are raised at all.

" Wet days feed liberally, fine days feed less," are standing
rules, but it should not be forgotten that wild broods are com-
pelled to search for their food whatever the weather, and it is
probably a longer and more arduous task when rain is falling.
Do not become possessed with the idea that rain injures young

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Pheasants by day, and if they can be sheltered from it at night
it does them not the least harm. Indeed, it is an excellent
practice on a day when warm rain is gently falling, to feed
sparingly so as to induce the young Pheasants to search for
extra food and expose themselves to the rain. A thorough
soaking, although it renders them pitiable to look at,
really does them immense good, for it cleans their skins
and feathers, and on becoming dry the birds appear all
the brighter, smarter, and livelier for their experience. A
little extra spice should always be added to the food during
and after rain, just to correct any tendency to scour which
may have developed amongst the birds owing to the
moisture. Occasionally, a thirsty chick will drink copiously
from the drops of water on the herbage, and then can
hardly escape an attack of scour. Still, scour brought
on in this way is rarely fatal, unless the bird is otherwise
weakly, and soon stops of its own accord. Never allow
puddles of water to linger on the field, but with a spade cut
little trenches and at once drain them away. If the broods
are ever allowed access to stagnant water all sorts of troubles
are sure to arise. A little water standing amongst dead
leaves in the bottom of a ditch adjacent to a coop of birds has
before now escaped notice and been the cause of every chick
dying, so such places should be carefully inspected.

Should a brood be noticed to thrive badly, follow the oft-
repeated advice and move it near a growing fence, or to the
outside of the field, where it can range over entirely fresh
ground. Also give the coop a long shift twice a day if possible,
so that the chicks may have every opportunity to obtain
natural food. Even go the length of letting the hen out to
wander with her brood if she can be kept from among the
other coops.

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CHAPTER XXVI

Removing the Young Pheasants to Covert

The removal of the birds to the covert constitutes a most
important part of the keeper's duties, and one that calls for
the exercise of a considerable amount of tact as well as the
display of a good deal of intelligence. Up to the time that
the birds are considered fit to remove to the covert the
rearer may have been very successful, but no matter how
successful he may have been, it will not be possible to bring
a good head of game to the gun, unless the rearer has
exercised his ingenuity and resourcefulness during the re-
moval of the birds to the covert side, as it is at this period
of the lives of the birds that so many fall victims to the
predatory habits of vermin. It is not in the mere transfer-
ence of the process that the danger lies, but in the keeper's
inability to persuade the birds to adapt themselves to such
conditions as will afford them the best protection that nature
can provide. In other words, success depends upon the early
roosting of the birds, more especially in those instances where
foxes and game have an equal share of preservation.

That a gamekeeper is seriously handicapped in fox-
hunting districts is irrefutable, nevertheless he is expected
to discharge the dual obligation of protecting one of his
greatest enemies, namely, the fox. Many extraordinary
stories have been told concerning this matter, but the con-
scientious keeper has a duty to perform towards the fox-
hunter, and the man who commits vulpicide does, if found
out, not find his future of the pleasantest order. There is
a considerable diversity of opinion as to what is the best

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age for removing the birds to the covert. It is impossible
to lay down any hard and fast law concerning this, because
so much will depend upon circumstances.

The condition of the birds, the state of the weather,
the arrangement of the coverts, the district, and many other
circumstances, have to be taken into consideration. All
these troubles never occur where birds are hatched and
reared under natural conditions, but as the present state of
game preservation does not admit of this, where a large head
of game has to be reared, the keeper has to devise other plans
and make the most of that which is placed at his disposal.

If the birds are well forward and the weather propitious
the sooner they are removed to the coverts the better, other-
wise a difficulty will be experienced in getting them into the
coops. All practical game-rearers believe in leaving the birds
out of the covert as long as possible. When the rearing-ground
is situated by the covert side, the matter is simplified, but it is
not every game-rearer that is thus favourably situated. If the
birds are left too long before being shifted, they begin to
wander, and either get lost or else are destroyed by vermin.

The best time for shifting the coops is at night, so that
after they have been transferred to the covert side, the
young birds will have time to settle down again before
dawn. In shifting the coops from the rearing-field various
plans are adopted, but one in general use is shown in the
accompanying photograph, which depicts a sack being
gradually drawn beneath the coop, and when underneath
it, the edges are tacked round the side of it so as to form
an artificial bottom. It is then lifted into the cart or
conveyed in some other way to the covert. Two coops
can be carried to the covert side on an improvised stretcher,
but when the covert is a considerable distance from the
rearing-field, the most expeditious manner is to employ a

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cart for the purpose. When the coop has a bottom to it
there is no necessity for the adoption of this plan, but the
author thinks most keepers will agree with him when he
says that the best form of coop is that without any wooden
bottom, the latter being a most insanitary addition.

Release the birds one by one early on the following
morning, and feed them around the coops, in order to keep
them with their foster-mother for the time being.

The best covert to place young birds in is one with
little or no undergrowth, otherwise they are apt to roost
on the ground. To induce the birds to enter the wood,
arrange all the coops so that their fronts look into it.

A young covert, say one about fifteen years old, should be
selected whenever possible, so that the young birds have suf-
ficient power of flight to go to roost in them. Some game-
keepers teach the young birds to roost by lifting the hen on to
the lower boughs, and the example thus set is an incentive
for the others to follow suit. Once the habit of roosting is
acquired, the keeper's anxiety is materially lightened as to the
future welfare of his charge, though unfortunately fresh
anxieties arise — in fact, his life is one series of anxieties from
the time the eggs are set until the birds have bitten the dust at
the hands of the sportsman. In feeding the birds, particular
care must be exercised to provide them with such food as
will be most conducive towards strengthening their growth.

Once the birds have settled down to their new conditions
and have been persuaded to roost in the proper manner,
there ought to be little difficulty experienced in their
subsequent management.

Rearers are often heard to remark that young Pheasants
should be retained on the rearing-field as long as possible for
their health's sake, but every gamekeeper cannot do as he
likes in this particular ; for instance, if the field is hired, there

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REMOVING YOUNG PHEASANTS TO COVERT

is sure to be an agreement that it shall be vacated by a certain
date, and however much the rearer may wish to keep birds
out of covert, he has to leave the g'round on that arranged
date and take all risk. Then the birds themselves have
a pleasant way of determining the end of their stay on the
rearing-field, by displaying symptoms of refusing to enter
the coops at night, and the keeper who would take all to
covert knows that removal must not be longer delayed.
The only person who is in a position to take advantage of
the rearing-field as long as he likes is he who raises his
birds close to the coverts to which they gradually find their
way. but ground close to woods which have been stocked
season after season cannot be very fresh, and therefore there
can be no advantage in retaining the broods thereon.

The health of young Pheasants may be improved by
keeping them off the rearing-field as long as possible, but
that entirely depends upon circumstances. Should the field
be stale and the coverts fresh, the sooner they are shifted the
better ; and when July turns out hot and dry, and the rearing-
ground is much exposed to the sun, it is advantageous to
take the broods where they can obtain shelter and coolness.

Should a wet period set in about the time the young
Pheasants ought to be removed to covert, it is the wiser
course to let them remain on the field. Wet drip from the
trees is certain to prove deadly to some, and probably to
a lot. Removal to covert can easily be effected at a much
later date than usual, if the rain continues, as it forces the
birds to seek the shelter of the coops long after they would
were it warm and dry.

I would like those who are my readers just to consider
what I now have to say, and if possible state their opinions
concerning my contentions. I have noticed that young
Pheasants kept on the open rearing-field long after they have

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

attained an age of eight weeks never take kindly to the covert,
or, at least, are a long while doing so. Directly they are
moved, if even to the centre of a large wood, they find their
way to the outside, and the most forward are soon wandering
over adjacent fields. Birds treated thus learn bad habits, and
are more difficult to retain at home, however carefully fed.

On the other hand, Pheasants shifted to covert at six
weeks appear to take more kindly to it from the first, and
all through their short career are truly birds of the wood.
I quite believe that the sportsman who has small coverts and
a limited acreage would do well to get his birds shifted
as early as the age last mentioned, and he would afterwards
be less troubled with straying.

The day before I shift my birds they get very light
feeding, and are kept in the coops late on in the morning
following removal. All are consequently very hungry, and
on being released, at once commence to feed heartily on
the food thrown down for them. This helps in a great
degree to settle them to their new quarters. It is also a
very good plan to treat the foster-mothers the same, as
some are inclined to be excited and noisy after the business
of removal ; but if they are hungry and are provided with
a good feed directly the coops are opened, peace and quiet-
ness is more likely to prevail. Excitement on the part of
the hens is sure to be communicated to the broods, so it is
as necessary to calm the former as the latter.

The more quietly the work of removal is carried out the
better, and it is not at all necessary to talk and shout during
the process, which is quite alarming enough without these
added terrors. Also begin placing the coops down at the
far end of the covert so that the vehicle used does not
have to pass to and fro at each journey in front of coops
already transported to their places.

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CHAPTER XXVII

Enemies of the Game-rearer, and how to deal
WITH them

Apart from the destructive effects of disease and the
adverse conditions of the weather, the gamekeeper has
many other enemies to contend with, but on the rearing-
field and covert side his occupation is mainly directed
towards the preservation of the young birds against the
predatory habits of both ground and winged vermin ; but
it is not only the young birds that he has to protect, but
the eggs and sitting hens against the felonious intentions
of both bipeds, quadrupeds, and certain members of the
feathered world.

His work is one continuous round of watching, not only
during the silent hours of the night but from the streak
of dawn to the setting of the sun. His watchword is, or
rather should be, "vigilance," and it is the special province
of the head-keeper and his under men to exercise such for
all they are worth.

To protect the young birds at night, whilst on the
rearing-field, it is a universal custom to close in the front
of the coop or to let down the shutter, but this does not
afford absolute protection, as any unevenness of the ground
may lead to the upsetting of a coop by that artful rascal
Reynard. Keepers in fox - hunting districts know that
foxes are gifted with a certain amount of ingenuity, and
more than one of these predatory creatures has been

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

known to take advantage of a coop placed upon uneven
ground, by inserting its nose under the edge of the coop
and turning it over, there being little chance for the
victims when this is done.

The destruction of enemies to game, in other words
the vermin pole, is one of the best tests of the abilities
of the head-keeper and his men, and no occupation re-
quires to be followed more closely with eyes and ears.
The cultivation of these two senses is an integral part of
the game-preserver's existence, for without the possession
of this commodity no keeper will ever be able to do justice
to his employer. The study of natural history constitutes
such an important part of a gamekeeper's work, that the
author has often thought that there ought to be some
qualification as tested by theory and practice for the
registration of gamekeepers, and that all keepers in pos-
session of such certificates should have precedence over
those without such registration. Practical gamekeepers
will perhaps feel somewhat amused at this suggestion as
to the possession of a diploma, but a litde mature reflection
will probably show that the idea is not such a Utopian
scheme as it appears. The up - to - date keeper has to
combine science with practice, and there is such a large
amount, or rather wide range of subjects, directly or
indirectly under his control.

Natural history, forestry, botany, meteorology, avicul-
ture, ichthyology, a knowledge of the disease of the dog
and the game (pathology), trout and salmon fishing, guns
and shooting, traps and trapping, the management of
moorlands, and a host of other matters could all be
introduced as essentials for the possession of a diploma.
Moreover, the keeper's education, in a commercial sense,
would be distincdy advanced. However, this is merely a

i88

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

digression, though the author hopes to hear more of it
at some future time.

The necessity for the study of the habits of the
multifarious enemies of game is interlinked with their
destruction, as it is only by an intimate knowledge of
their various habits that they can be persuaded to fall
victims to their own depredations. To become a suc-
cessful trapper the whole matter is based upon this
fact.

Knowledge is power, and its introduction into the life
of a keeper is as indispensable as in any other occupation.
Although it is the special province of the gamekeeper to
wage war against the enemies of his charge, it is some-
what surprising to note the remarkable differences amongst
game - preservers concerning the destructive influences
attributed to birds of prey and to vermin. Upon some
points keepers are agreed, whereas, as just stated, they
are at variance relative to others. Honest differences of
opinion contribute to the elucidation of facts, and it is in
the practical exposition of these that the best results are
most likely to be obtained. Resourcefulness and tact
do, however, go a long way in the preservation of
game, and unless the gamekeeper can outwit those of his
enemies, his losses will be in ratio to the amount of vermin
infesting the coverts.

The preservation of foxes and game is so diametrically
opposed that one has a difficulty in believing that it can
be carried on successfully, nevertheless it is done, and, be
it said, to the credit of the keeper. The protection of the
eggs, the sitting Pheasant, the young broods, and what may
be termed Pheasants in the undergraduate stage — that is
when they are removed to coverts and before they learn
the art of roosting — constitute in the main the most im-

189

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

portant items for protection, whilst the various devices
and contrivances adopted for such purposes are innumer-
able, consequently each keeper has his own methods of
protection.

The illegality of the use of the pole-trap in Great
Britain removes once and for all this appliance from the
keepers' weapons of offence, or rather defence, against
feathered foes. A question that may present itself to the
mind of a thoughtful reader is concerning the relative
superiority in point of damage done by winged and
ground vermin, and the only answer the author can give
— in which he believes the majority will support him— is
that the ravages of both are about equally divided. Amongst
the former, the principal offenders are : —

Magpies, jays, hawks, falcons, hooded crows, rooks,
owls, egg-eating Pheasants, jackdaws.

Among the latter, foxes and badgers, cats and dogs,
stoats and weasels, rats, adders, hedgehogs.

There is one enemy with which keepers are unfor-
tunately only too well acquainted, and that is that biped
Homo Vulgaris, in other words Man ; and as the eggs of
the Pheasant are a decided delicacy, together with the
fact that they have a certain amount of pecuniary value
attached to them, seems to have a peculiar fascination,
and the spirit of covetousness not uncommonly develops
into one of appropriation. Fortunately such offences are
not justifiable, or rather excusable, on the plea of klep-
tomania. The theft of eggs by labourers and others has
been dealt with elsewhere.

A short account of some of the game-preserver's enemies,
together with the methods adopted for dealing with such
pests, may not be out of place — in fact, it constitutes such
an essential part of the Pheasant-preserver's work, that

190

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ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

to exclude it from a manual of this nature would be almost
like asking a man to become a horseman without provid-
ing him with a horse to ride. The study of their haunts
and habits is, as previously stated, of paramount importance,
and when a good knowledge of this has been obtained, the
application of the various weapons of offence will become
easier of application, whilst suggestions for the improve-
ments in connection therewith will, from time to time, offer
themselves.

The Magpie

The writer of an article was not far short of the truth
when he said that the Magpie, or " Maggie," as this bird
is more popularly termed, constitutes a study for the keeper
in black and white, and that its black features certainly
predominate. Howard Saunders defines the distribution
of this bird in the following terms : —

" From the North Cape in Scandinavia southward it
is found more or less plentifully throughout Europe, ex-
cept in the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia; but it does not
occur in Palestine though found in Asia Minor. Eastward —
subject to a variation in the amount of white in the plumage
which has led to the creation of several bad species — the
Magpie is found across Asia, in India, China and Japan,
and also in the northern portion of America from the Pacific
to Michigan."

In Scotland, England and Wales, the Magpie (^Pica
Rustica) is very common, whilst in Ireland it is particularly
plentiful. Its prevalence in particular localities is a fact well

191

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

known to all ornithologists, but no man looks upon it with
greater misgivings than the gamekeeper, for the simple
reason that he knows its artfulness is on a parallel with its
destructiveness, consequently it is war to the knife with
" Maggie." As showing the prevalence of Magpies and
allied pests, a gamekeeper destroyed in three weeks one
hundred and eighty nine, most of which were Magpies. Its
colour is mostly glossy black, with purple and green reflec-
tions. The scapular feathers are white, the belly is snow-
white, and the bill and the feet black. The former is pointed
and strong, which enables it to readily pierce eggs. The
hen bird is smaller than the male, and its bill a bit shorter.
It has a jerky flight, and does not remain long in the air. It
is a restless, noisy bird, and strangely suspicious of man,
preferring to remain in the open where it can take into
account all that is going on, with a minimum of risk against
its being shot.

Sometimes these birds are seen upon the backs of cattle,
searching for ticks or for maggots. The food comprises
worms, insects, young birds, eggs, acorns, beech-mast,
fruit, etc., but it is its egg-destructive properties which
renders it a foe to the keeper. It is a single-brooded bird,
and generally begins to build its nest about the end of March,
though sometimes in May, and is a bold bird when nesting.
The nest is usually placed near the summit of a tree, and
the Magpie displays remarkable ingenuity in the construc-
tion of this necessary receptacle for the perpetuation of the
individual. It is very firmly planted in the tree, and it must
be rare to find a Magpie's nest dislodged during a gale,
no matter however severe — in fact, the author believes that
there would only be two ways of dislodging it, namely,
either its forcible removal by the hand or the levelling of the

tree to the ground.

192

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

The eggs are a pale emerald green, more rarely whitish,
and generally from six to eight in number, but occasionally
nine. They are mottled with irregular olive markings and
dots of a similar colour. In some instances most of the
markings are at one end. The male bird takes his part in
sitting on the eggs, which relieves the monotony of the
maternal duties. If the first nest is destroyed before the
young are hatched, the pair will probably build another one.
In any case a new nest is built every season, and the best
plan is to destroy the birds before they have an opportunity
of perpetuating the species.

The best bait for a Magpie is the nest together with
the eggs of either a blackbird or thrush quite early on in
the season, the first nests of these eggs being a piece
de resistance, but as soon as ever they become common,
" Maggie " has very little inclination for earlier epicurean
views. A very good bait is the rabbit's head with the eye
exposed placed upon the plate of a well-concealed trap. One
ingenious keeper has used as a deadly bait, sheep's eyes, and
a number of these can be obtained and kept for almost an in-
definite time in ice. The eye is sown up in a piece of rabbit's
skin, with a hole cut in it, just sufficient to show the bright
portion of it, and this is then placed on the plate of the trap.

Some gamekeepers scatter a few hens' eggs about, though
Magpies look upon these with disfavour to begin with, and
fight shy of them at first, but familiarity breeds contempt,
and when they have had a good taste, the best plan is to set
one on the foot of a trap. Another keeper used an old
sparrow-hawk's nest, and dyed some bantam eggs a green
colour, and then mottled these with darker markings. This
nest was fixed on the top of a tall bush, together with a
trap carefully concealed, and the device resulted in a large
number of captures.

N 193

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

The shooting of Magpies requires a good deal of skill,
owing to the wily flight of these birds, and the way in which
they enter and leave their nests.

Jays {Garrilus G/andarius)

The Jay is widely distributed and resident throughout
Europe, except in the south-east, and is common in the
woodlands of England, less so in Scotland. It chiefly
inhabits the woods, and its noise is most obvious in the
evening, being akin to the words " Chaik ! Chaik! Chaik ! "
having an evident desire to conceal its presence as much
as possible. It nests in the Hawthorn, Holly, Fir, Yew,
Hazel, etc., and makes a substantial nest, though rather
crude in form. The eggs are from five to seven, pale green,
mottled with dark or light markings. Most Jays' nests are
discovered about May. It lives on worms, spiders, eggs,
young birds, and fruit, but also upon berries, beech-nuts,
acorns, etc. It is a handsome bird, and the female is very
similar to the male though somewhat smaller.

On the crown there is a crest of light feathers tipped with
black. The bill is brown, and the tail blackish-brown. The
rump and upper tail coverts are white. The throat is also
white. Some of the feathers are light blue, whilst the rest
of the plumage is mostly a blend of terra-cotta and buff, or
as described by ornithologists — vinaceous.

Keepers are not unanimous as to the damage done by
Jays, but it is tolerably certain that this bird does harm.
In relation to this matter the following contribution is worthy
of reproduction.

194

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

A trapper, writing in the Gamekeepe/% gives a most
excellent account of the Jay. He says : —

" The Jay is so pretty a bird and so interesting in its
habits that it would be a matter for regret should it become
extinct ; but this is little likely to occur, as it undoubtedly
is a migrant to this country. Persistent trapping certainly
has not decreased its numbers, and while the Jay is preserved
on the great forest-lands there are sure to be enough left
to satisfy the most exacting naturalist.

" The Jay is supposed to be a flagrant destroyer of eggs,
but the harm it does amongst game eggs is greatly exag-
gerated. The bird rarely leaves the coverts except it be
in the early summer mornings when the fields are quiet, and
then it continues in such a nervous state that it is doubtful
if a nest in the fence is ever destroyed. Pheasant eggs laid
in coverts may be consumed to some extent, but the Jay is
far fonder of robbing the nests of small birds, and there is
no surer sign than such empty nests that Jays are present.
Judging by the way Crows and Magpies chase a Jay from
the neighbourhood of their nests, it is to be surmised that
this bird is no exponent of the old saying, ' Honour amongst
thieves.' Probably an &g^ is an &g^ to the Jay, whatever
has produced it, but the bird has an eye for those of a
bright colour.

" Many keepers prefer to have a Jay or two in their
coverts because they are so quick to utter their harsh cries
of alarm if intruders enter, and it is certain that a Fox who
attempts to hunt by daylight is considerably handicapped
where Jays exist. He is hardly likely to venture into the
open, and as long as he continues to prowl about the coverts,
the Jays accompany him overhead screaming all the time
and putting everything on the alert. Some naturalists say

195

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

that the Jay follows a fox hoping to get a feed off the
remnants of any meal he secures, but were this the object,
it is to be assumed the bird would keep quiet and not attempt
to place hindrances in his way. Whatever game and other
birds may think of the Jay as a robber of nests they do not
hesitate to take advantage of its warning cries, for the Jay
never gfives tongue without reason, and be it weasel, stoat
or fox on the prowl, soon lets the feathered kind know.

"The Jay lives in mortal dread of the sparrow-hawk, its
greatest enemy, and this bird is the principal reason that it
so seldom leaves the coverts. Among the trees and bushes
it can escape, but in the open its slow, hesitating flight
renders it an easy prey. Indeed, it rarely attempts to escape
by flight from the sparrow-hawk in the open, but at once
alights on the ground, if any distance from the hedge or
thicket, and seeks to keep its antagonist at bay by means
of its powerful bill. The observer will witness a most in-
teresting sight, a prolonged combat which always terminates
in the victory of the hawk if no other Jays come to the
rescue. Should other Jays hear the cry of their brother in
distress they do not hesitate to assist it, recognising that
safety lies in numbers. On seeing more Jays appear on
the scene, the hawk invariably relinquishes the contest.
The writer has never seen a kestrel tackle a Jay.

" Mr Jay is about the wariest bird alive and sees an
intruder long before the latter sights him ; and although he
is so noisy, he is careful not to utter a sound until right out
of the danger zone. The bird sees to its own safety first,
and then thinks of others, which is the custom all the world
over. Probably the Jay's worst time is on shooting days,
when penned in between guns and beaters, the bird has to
brave one or the other. Sometimes he goes forward and
is shot, but more often decides that safety rests in a masterly

196

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

retreat over the beaters. Should one be killed there is
great competition for its blue feathers with which the beaters
love to adorn their head-orear. These feathers are also valued
for fly-tying, and in the north many a Jay is slain for those
feathers alone.

" The Jay is particularly fond of acorns, and for that reason
is rarely absent from large oak woods. It is suspected of
watching squirrels visit their hordes of nuts during the mild
days of winter, and subsequently taking toll therefrom. If
this accusation is true, it is not to be wondered at, having
regard to the bird's cunning. A large crop of acorns in
one locality, and a corresponding lack elsewhere, is certain
to lead to a big influx of Jays, but the birds generally leave
again early in the year before eggs are laid. Perhaps the
Jay's favourite food is the newly-hatched nestlings of small
birds, and as regards the destruction of these it is a positive
brute, insatiable and most cruel. Occasionally, it may be
able to seize a stray Pheasant or partridge chick, but not
often, although a very little rabbit frequently pays the penalty
of venturing too far from its burrow.

" At night the Jay roosts in the densest part of a thick
fir-tree, preferably one in the centre of a group, or amongst
the ivy on an old wall or tree. It is not easily driven from
its roosting-place, and where one is there are generally
more. The Jay is very secret over its nesting, and is most
careful never to make a noise or to be seen near ; in fact,
that part of a covert where the bird is heard and seen least
generally contains its nest. The nest is situated at the top
of an ash or alder pole, at the tip of a fir-tree, and always
well hidden from view.

" The Jay is not an easy bird to capture at all times,
being suspicious of everything in the nature of a trap, and
scorns a bait when natural food is abundant. When snow

197

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

lies on the ground it succumbs to a bait consisting of a piece
of fat or a little scattered maize. The reader needs to
commence proceedings at once on the appearance of hard
weather, as the Jay soon begins to reap a rich harvest among
half-starved and v^^eakened small members of the feathered
kind, and then will not look at a bait, however cleverly-
disposed or enticing it be. Young Jays just fledged are
not difficult to trap while they linger in the vicinity of the
nest."

Both Magpies and Jays go to roost just before dark, so
that if a watcher conceals himself after he has got a live
bird trapped to call others, or by the aid of an artificial call,
he can often shoot a number in this way. Although illegal,
poisoned baits are sometimes employed, and the keeper
gets rid of many of his enemies by this means, but unless
particular care is exercised more damage may be done than
is justifiable.

Hawks

Both sparrow and kestrel Hawks are enemies of the
gamekeeper, but the sparrow-hawk is the one against
which the keeper devotes his particular attention. It is
most destructive to young birds, and the more of these that
a keeper can hang between his vermin poles the better
for the game on the estate.

The best plan is to shoot them and to destroy all nests,
though many keepers trap them. Both large and small
Hawk traps can be obtained. Some of them have teeth,
others are without. They are made with jaws, and range from
4 to 8 inches, the larger ones being particularly suitable for

198

BLACK'S PATENT HAWK TRAP

[To _/acf page ig

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

large birds of prey. The traps depicted in the illustration
are those of Mr Lane, Eagle Works, Wednesfield, Staffs.
Another form of trap is that known as Black's Patent Hawk
Trap, in which the birds are caught alive. This consists
of a wire cage, with a compartment 2 feet square above and
I foot below. In the lower compartment live sparrows are
confined. These cage traps should be worked in the spring
(March and April) before nesting, and again in August
and September. The Hawk enters through a drop lid at
the top, which as soon as the Hawk passes in, closes. The
trap is placed on four uprights about 2 feet from the ground,
and the drop lid then set as shown in the accompanying
photograph.

The larger birds of prey can be dealt with in a similar
manner to Hawks, but as they are rather uncommon in the
British Isles there is no necessity to enter into consideration
of them.

There is one species of Hawk, known as Montagu's
Harrier {Circus Cineraceous), which is one of the few species
of Hawks that are known to have the villainous habit of
consuming game eggs.

Hooded Crows [Corvus Comix)

This bird, as well as the Jay, Jackdaw, Magpie, Nut-
cracker, Chough, Carrion Crow, and Raven, all belong to
one family, known as the Corvidse, which are characterised
by the tail consisting of twelve feathers, powerful curved
claw, with the middle toe shorter than the tarsus. They
are cosmopolitan, omnivorous, build their nests in trees,
walls or rocks, and lay from four to eight eggs, and they

199

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

are all hardy birds strongly inclined to pillaging nests or
acting prejudicially in some other manner on game preserves.

The Hooded Crow occurs throughout Europe, through
Palestine into Egypt, and in Persia, as well as Afghanistan.
It is an autumnal visitor to England and Wales, but in
Scodand and Ireland common, resident and frequently
breeds with the Carrion Crow.

Lord Lilford has the following- remarks relating- to this
bird :—

" The habits of the bird are always abominable, and
although from the accident of its not nesting in our county,
we are not exposed to the detriment from this thief, to which
those dwelling on the other side of the Tweed are subject,
we have no plea to urge in the defence of the Grey Crow,
and hold him as a sturdy vagrant, to be summarily dealt with
at all times and at all places. We should be sorry to exter-
minate any bird ; but this one could be better spared than
any other with which we are acquainted."

The Grey-backed Crow arrives about the first week in
October and leaves again towards the end of March, and
it is fortunate that these destructive birds leave during the
breeding season. It is most destructive to eggs of all kinds,
and a single pair of these horrible birds may create wholesale
destruction on the estate, as it has no scruples as to how it
gets a living.

Its plumage is brownish-black in part, and the rest a
grey. The back, breast, flanks are all grey. The bill and
the feet black. The head, throat, upper parts of the breast,
wings, tail, and thighs are black, or sooty brown, the female
being similar to the male. It is very fond of frequenting
marshes near rivers, and is abundant about the coast.

200

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

The destruction of these birds is best effected either by
means of a concealed spring hawk trap, baited with eggs,
or else by shooting, poisoning, etc.

The Carrion Crow {Corims Corove)

Although a particularly common bird in England and
Wales, it is much more abundant in Scotland, or at any rate,
certain portions of it. There seems to be a doubt as to
whether it is ever found in the Orkney or Shetland Isles,
whilst in Ireland it is an uncommon bird. The male and the
female are similar in plumage, being glossy black. The bill
and the feet are black, with greenish reflections on the head,
neck and wings. It will hybridise with the Hooded Crow,
and in many features it has a strong resemblance to the
Raven. The gamekeeper and the shepherd both dislike it,
and its destruction is keenly sought after. Its food consists
of young hares and rabbits, partridges. Pheasants and grouse,
as well as disabled sheep, lambs, etc. It emits a hoarse
croaking sound, and its favourite nesting-places are tall trees,
such as the Oak, Elm and Pine. The old nest is added to
from year to year, and the eggs are usually about six.

A peculiar feature in connection with the Carrion Crow
is that when it pairs with the female, it is a marriage for
life, unless either of them meet with an untimely death.
Probably the reader will take exception to my usage of the
word untimely, with which I agree, it being impossible for
the destruction of the Carrion Crow to be carried out too
early.

Rook {Corvus Frugilegus)

The Rook is widely distributed in England, Ireland

20 1

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

and Wales, and is plentiful in Scotland, breeding as far
north as the Orkneys and Shetland. It also breeds
in Western Siberia and Turkestan, and is found through-
out Central and Southern Europe during summer. It is
easily recognised by the caw. Its gregarious character-
istics are well known, and thousands of these birds are
sometimes seen wending their way home to the rookeries
in the evening.

The chief food of the Rook consists of wire-worms, the
larvae of the cockchafers, but the farmer knows how very
destructive these pests are in the autumn and the winter,
likewise in the spring, when cereals have been planted.
They are also a nuisance in the potato fields, and it is
customary to wage war on the Rooks during the nesting
season. Sometimes many thousands are destroyed at this
period, as annual shoots on certain estates are organised for
this purpose.

It is sometimes spoken of as the Black Pest. When
short of food it is not very particular as to how it obtains
its living, and will resort to predatory habits in a similar
manner to the Carrion Crow. Fresh young birds, eggs,
mice, fish, acorns, beech-nuts, berries and sundry other
articles, such as potatoes and grain, are all alike palatable
to Mr Rook. These birds begin to repair their nests early
in March, and sometimes earlier, there being instances on
record of Rooks commencing nesting in January. The nest
is composed of strong sticks and twigs, dead leaves, mud and
feathers. It is a slovenly built nest.

The knowing habits of the Rooks render them very
difficult to shoot, excepting when returning to the rookeries
in the evening. Their shyness in the face of man,
especially when he is carrying a gun, is too well known
to need further comment.

202

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

The Jackdaw {Cot'vus Moncdula)

The mere mention of the word Jackdaw to a gamekeeper
is sufficient to create a degree of uneasiness in his mind, yet
in spite of the war that he wages upon these birds, they are,
in certain localities, almost as common as stones, this being
due to the fact that they breed in Great Britain. It is only
an occasional visitor to the Shetland Islands. It breeds
in Cashmere and Afghanistan, visitino- the north-western
plains of India in the winter. It is a bird that pairs for
life, and lays from four to six pale blue eggs, spotted or
unspotted, and rears a single brood in a season. The nest
is generally built in April or May, and constructed of wool,
moss, straw or feathers. The Jackdaws go about in flocks,
though sometimes in pairs. Disused chimneys, ruins over-
grown with ivy, the belfries of churches, as well as trees,
are the favourite nesting haunts of the Jackdaw. A striking
feature of it is its light, small piercing eyes, and very little
will escape the notice of "Jack" or "Daws" as they are
sometimes called.

Lord Lilford, in his Birds of Northamptonshire, has some
extremely interesting remarks concerning the Jackdaw, which
are worthy of repetition. He says : —

" This amusing but most pernicious bird is extremely
common in our county and probably only too well known to
most of our readers. In the hollow trees about the park
and pleasure grounds of Lilford, they used to swarm at the
breeding season, till we found it absolutely necessary to wage
war upon them in the interests of our garden, poultry and
game, to say nothing of those of the barn-owl, a species for
which we have always entertained a sincere respect and

203

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

affection. The Daw has not only carried off a number of
young chickens, Pheasants and partridges, and committed
havoc amongst our green peas and other vegetables, but
in several instances, to our knowledge, took possession of
the owls' nests, destroyed their eggs, and piled up their own
nests in the cavities selected by the harmless and most
useful bird of night. Occasionally, however, the tables are
turned. For these misdemeanours we have, for some years
past, made a practice of shooting the old Jackdaws and
destroying their nests and eggs wherever we found them,
with the result of decided benefit to ourselves and our
neighbours. The Jackdaw disputes the palm for noisy and
intrusive impudence with the house sparrow, and does not,
to our knowledge, compensate us in any way for his
misdoings. That the Daw fulfils his duty in the great
scheme of Nature I do not deny, but must confess that I
am unable to discover what it may be."

The flight of the Jackdaw is strong but without
apparently much reason in it. He is frequently on
the ground in search for worms, grubs, etc. When
in confinement his mischievous propensities are strongly
developed.

Trapping and shooting are the most effective methods
of dealing with these birds, which are often particularly
troublesome in pheasantries that are open at the top. In
such instances the best plan is to trap one of the birds, and
leave him in the trap in sight of the others, which, on seeing
one of their colleagues in such an unfortunate position, will
suffice to keep the birds away for a week at anyrate. In
open aviaries string netting may be used to keep these
pests, which are as wary of the gun as most other members
of the order, from causing annoyance.

204

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

Egg-eating Pheasants

Pheasants that acquire this habit are even worse to deal
with than the enemies already named, because it is so
difficult when birds are in covert to obtain positive evidence
against them. There may be circumstantial evidence, and
when this is conjectured the best plan is to shoot the
offenders ; but egg-eating is common in aviaries and must
be dealt with accordingly.

Penned hens when they are released to covert have
been known to indulge in this detestable practice, which, as
already stated, is one of the worst vices that a gamekeeper
has to contend against in the preserves. Keep all unfertile
eggs from year to year, and when birds begin to mutiny,
either in pen or covert, give them a supply of these eggs,
and it will be a case of "once bitten, twice shy." The
substitution of pot eggs is another remedy, but there is no
doubt that egg-eating is a vice largely fostered by insuffi-
ciency of food, want of grit, and idleness ; therefore these
facts should be borne in mind in searching for a remedy.

205

CHAPTER XXVIII

Enemies of the Game-rearer, and now to deal
WITH them {continued)

The Fox ( Vulpes Vtilg-aris)

Foremost amongst all enemies that the game-rearer has to
contend against, particularly in hunting counties, stands the
Fox, which, as stated in a preceding chapter, has to be
preserved as much as the game — in fact, even more so, as
shooting, viewed in the light of the true sportsman, must
rank second to that of fox-hunting. Any form of sport
into which an element of danger enters must have pre-
cedence over one unaccompanied by risks ol any kind. In
non-hunting localities, the gamekeeper usually finds a ready
means of clearing out Reynard, either by trapping or by
shooting, and failing the adoption of either plan, by poison.
From time to time the author has had Foxes sent to him
which have been found dead by keepers, with a view to
ascertaining the cause of death. It is a most unfortunate
occurrence for a gamekeeper to find Foxes either dead or
dying upon an estate over which he has charge of the game
preserves. In one instance, fox-poisoning extended over a
period of ten years, which was anything but a pleasant
coincidence for the head-keeper, as members of the hunt
commonly associate such deaths with the preservation of
game. In the case alluded to, the gamekeeper was as
anxious to find the culprit as the master of the hunt,
and spared neither time nor expense to solve the problem,
which so far was solved. As a rule, strychnine is the drug

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ENEMIES OF THE GAME REARER

employed for the destruction of Foxes, and this may be
either in the form of pure strychnine, which is white, or
else as a brown powder, known as nux-vomica, strychnine
being one of two active principles contained in this plant of
which the powder is a representative.

When a Fox is found dead in what is apparently a
mysterious manner, it is advisable to have a post-mortem
made in order to unravel the mystery. When a Pheasant
is sitting, it is quite safe from the Fox until the eggs begin
to hatch, it being a popular notion that a sitting Pheasant
is free from scent. When the young birds are hatched and
the hen beoins to leave the nest, the danger of a Fox tracking
her increases from day to day.

Foxes are very keen in searching fences at night and
hedgerows where they have an idea sitting birds are likely
to exist. Both mangy Foxes and Vixens, when the latter
has cubs, are worse to deal with than a healthy dog Fox.
For the first few weeks the cubs subsist upon the milk,
and she only requires food for herself, so that her hunting-
exploits are of a very limited order — in fact, only just sufficient
to supply her with the necessary sustenance. When the cubs
become a drain upon her system she begins to forage for
them, and it is in these foraging expeditions that she has to
scour the ground of all it is worth, though for the time
being- she will avoid roaming far from her earth.

A gamekeeper can do a good deal towards regulating the
depredation of a Vixen with cubs. He can, in fact, regulate
her conduct so much that she will interfere very little with
the game. Most of her foraging expeditions are carried
out during the night, and the best plan is to feed her
liberally at the furthest points to which she goes. It is no
use feeding her at home, it being natural for a Fox to make
nocturnal predatory excursions.

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

If there is a rookery about, especially when young rooks
are in the nest, she will generally visit such in the hope of
finding some unfortunate young rooks. It is a very good
plan for the gamekeeper to shoot a few and leave them
lying about on the ground.

Sometimes it is a good plan to induce a Vixen to change
her place of abode, and if there is a sandy bank with
numerous rabbit burrows and plenty of rabbits around, a
fresh earth can be dug for her. It is not a difficult matter
to stink her out of her burrow by applying a quantity of
Reynardine or some other pungent material at the entrance
to her home. She will under these circumstances usually
shift her cubs, and as the latter increase in size, the rabbits
in the vicinity will supply them with food. Rats and mice,
pigeons and rooks, stoats and weasels, rabbits and various
other birds will all serve as food for the cubs. Fo.xes will
destroy stoats, weasels, and rats, particularly rats, and this is
about the only useful function that can be assigned to
them beyond that of the pleasure they afford as sport in
hunting them.

A mangy Fox is the most cunning of all, and when
one is suspected of suffering from mange, the sooner it is
destroyed the better. It is no use to the hunting man,
and the constant irritation induced by the parasites in the
skin renders life intolerable to itself, consequendy it is
always on the prowl and does incalculable harm. If a
keeper has reason to suspect the existence of mangy Foxes,
he should acquaint either the secretary or master of the
hunt, failing this, one of the hunt servants, and co-operate
with such for the destruction of the affected animals. Mange
in the Fox is a parasitic skin trouble and readily spreads
from one Fox to another both by direct and indirect contact.
For instance, a burrow may be the medium of infection, if

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ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

it has been inhabited by a mangy Fox. Again, a Vixen is
capable of transferring this horrible trouble to her cubs.

Foxes occasionally give trouble on the rearing-field,
and the most effective method of excludingf them is to
enclose it by a wire netting to the height of about 8
feet. Four-inch mesh should be selected, and the netting
turned over at the top to the extent of about a couple of
feet. Stout posts must support it at intervals, and the
bottom portion must be pegged well into the ground.
Certainly not less than half a yard of mesh ought to be
pegged down in the earth, to prevent a Fox scratching his
way through at the bottom, as the pertinacity of this crafty
animal is truly surprising, whilst his persistence in over-
coming what may seem insurmountable objects is a fact
that is well known to game-preservers in localities where
Foxes are troublesome.

All sorts of devices have been adopted for the protection
of the birds in the rearing-field, though with a variable
degree of success. Probably one of the best is the alarm
gun, and the more widely the utility of these becomes
known the more universally they will be employed. The
ordinary breech-loading alarm guns will take an ordinary
twelve-gauge case, and may be either set on the ground
or hung on a tree. Some alarm guns will fire immediately
the wire is cut, whereas others yield a second report after
the first shot. Automatic alarm guns will fire a shot every
hour, and are particularly useful, either on the rearing-field
or at the covert side, especially for the latter purpose, but
before the young birds are turned into the covert the trap
should be kept constantly going, as the more vermin destroyed
the better the results.

Luminous paint, lanterns either plain or coloured, as well
as tainting preparations, are amongst other devices employed
o 209

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

for keeping Foxes off the rearing-field. Luminous paint is
a very useful preparation, and one that, if not a preventive
for keeping Foxes away, does, to a large extent, afford
an additional means of protection. Either the coops or
triangular tablets of wood may be painted and placed in
various parts of the rearing-field or else at the covert side.

If cocoanut-fibre string, such as is used by gardeners
and by harvestmen under the name of "Binder Twine,"
be well saturated with some substance such as Reynardine,
and then several runs of it be fastened to stakes around the
field to the height of about a couple of feet, it will help to
keep these troublesome pests away. The only objection to
it is that the dressing has to be frequently repeated,
otherwise it loses its efficaciousness. In many instances
Reynard becomes so troublesome that in spite of all the
keeper's devices he is able to outwit the lot of them.

A number of good yelping curs on running chains
attached to wire around the field sometimes prove a means
of overcoming the difficulty.

Badgers {^Melus Taxtis or Ursus Meles)

Also known as the brock, the pate or the grey, is not
uncommon in certain localities, and there are good reasons
for believing that he is troublesome to game at times.
The weight of a male is about 25 lbs., and the female
slightly less. They are very fond of eggs of game birds
and will hunt hedgerows in search of them, so that it is
better to get rid of them. Various devices are employed,
a simple one being an open sack. When the Badgers are
away from home, a sack with a running noose is placed in
the mouth of each of the most frequented holes and the
surrounding covert then hunted to put the Badger into the

210

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

earth, but unfortunately, when the animal is pressed hard
by dogs, they will often seek shelter in other directions.

The best means of getting rid of them is by means of
terriers and digging, which resolves itself into one of sport.
The necessary appliances are a couple of spades, a pick,
an earth-raker, tongs, and a hatchet, combined with a
wee drop of Scotch as a reviver during the arduous work.

Cats and "Dogs [Catiis atid Fe/is Domeslica)

Both dogs and cats commonly become inveterate
poachers, more especially the latter, which, once acquiring
the habit of poaching, continues it until it meets with its
quietus at the hands of the keeper. On some estates
enormous numbers of cats are destroyed annually, and it
seems to the author that it is part of the natural instinct
of the cat to revert towards its original wild condition.
The existence of the true wild cat in the British Isles has
been disputed, and if such does exist, it is certainly rare.
Trapping and shooting are the best means of dealing with
these offenders, as the amount of damage either of them can
do in a game preserve is wonderful.

A very good method of trapping cats is to make a
spurious rabbit burrow, and put a flesh bait, such as a
piece of liver, etc., in the burrow, and a trap at the
entrance of it, leaving all the soil outside so as to attract
stoats, weasels, cats, hedgehogs, etc. If the burrow is
made in a hedgerow that vermin frequent the captures
will be innumerable. It is a simple, safe, efficacious and
reliable means of decoying ground vermin into a trap.

For trapping a cat, the carcase of a cat placed beside
a trap is one of the best lures. Put a cat plus a trap to
catch a cat, and if the carcase is beginning to putrefy, the
more efficacious the bait becomes.

211

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

Stoats, Weasels and Pole-cats

The Stoat, Weasel, Pole-cat, Hedgehog and Rat are all
very fond of eggs, and precisely the same remark applies
to mice, and when the weather is dry, all these animals
are very keen in searching for Pheasant and partridge
eggs. The stoat, the weasel and the pole-cat belong to
the same family — Mustelidae — as the ferret, and their habits
closely resemble this useful little animal.

The gamekeeper wages war on the Stoat and the
Weasel all the year round, and his vermin poles usually
display a goodly number of these destructive pests. They
are equally fond of young birds and their eggs, and not
uncommonly kill adult Pheasants, their point of attack
being the neck. Their depredations are not confined to
game birds by any means, any form of flesh being pala-
table to their stomach provided it is in fresh condition.

The hedges and the coverts are both favoured haunts
of the Stoat. The Stoat is nomadical, in other words
constantly on the move, and will travel along the banks
of a brook, and as these little pests have a fancy for
crossing a stream from one side to another, advantage
can be taken of this by placing a tree or log of wood to
form a bridge, with a trap in the middle of it, only the
trap must not be exposed on the pole, otherwise the Stoat
will jump over it.

A trapper, writing on the habits of the Stoat in the Game-
keeper for September 1901, has the following remarks con-
cerning this wily little animal : —

" If a gamekeeper wishes to insure the capture of every
Stoat passing along a stream, he should dig at right angles
to that stream a ditch about 4 feet wide, extending a

212

ENEMIES OF THE GAME-REARER

distance outwards of 15 feet or so. It need not be deep,
but it must be allowed to fill with water, and the banks should
be as precipitous as they can be made. If a smaller stream
joins the larger stream at any point, there is the place ready
to hand. A Stoat coming down the bank of a stream must
cross over this tributary or return, and if a pole is to be found
stretching across the minor portion of water, at the spot where
it joins the main body, Mr Stoat will make use of it to his
final discomfiture if the gamekeeper has carried out the plot
skilfully. Always hang a dead Stoat near the trap that has
caught it, for surviving Stoats have a habit of showing their
respect for deceased relatives by gathering around the spot
where the keeper has exposed the mortal remains, and finally
the place of mortuary becomes more fascinating than ever,
owing to the speedy addition of the bodies of the various
pilgrims to those already exposed. Some people say a fresh
bait for a Stoat is the best, but a stinking bait is really the
most attractive. It Is not meant that the Stoat will eat such
a bait, but he smells it at a greater distance than he would a
perfectly fresh bait, and cannot resist coming to see what has
been left behind by another Stoat. Of course he cannot
believe anything besides a Stoat capable of killing rabbits,
etc, so that his curiosity brings about his end. When a
gamekeeper has been successful in capturing a succession of
Stoats in a certain trap, he is apt to take it up under the im-
pression that he has cleared the neighbourhood ; this par-
ticularly refers if there happens to be a lull in the stream of
victims. But he makes no greater mistake, for he has been
fortunate enough to locate his trap within killing distance of
one of the highways followed by travelling Stoats, and If that
trap is kept going It will capture Stoats as they arrive. A
Stoat rarely takes to the open, and when It does, only with
the assurance that shelter is within easy reach ; the line it

213

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

follows is always beside a fence, along a ditch, or by a stream,
and it is in such places that traps must be set. Every game-
keeper possessed of the slightest skill knows this, for when
desirous of capturing Stoats, he sets his traps near the corners
of the covert, and not in its centre. He displays knowledge
of the Stoat's habits too when he places the trap in a dry
drain beneath a gateway.

" An under-run or tunnel trap at the corner of a covert is
a sure method of taking Stoats, for this kind of vermin cannot
resist entering such a place. A tunnel of this description
can be made double killing if fresh soil be regularly scraped
out at its entrance. Fresh soil at the entrance to a hole is
associated by the Stoat with the presence of rabbits, and he
is bound to tread the place."

The foregoing remarks are of a very practical nature and
afford the gamekeeper just such information concerning the
habits of Stoats as is most needed, though doubtless most
keepers are well acquainted with the haunts of the Stoat and
its ally the Weasel. Strange to relate several Stoats have
been captured in the same trap at a single setting, and photo-
graphs of such captures have from time to time appeared in
the Gamekeeper.

The Stoat is very fond of eggs which it eats by the side
of the nest. The Hedgehog is another egg-stealer, only they
remove gradually, say one or two every day.

The Common Hedgehog (Vimaceus Europoeus)

This is an insect-eating animal, but it also lives on frogs,
eggs, mice, small birds and fruit. 1 1 is regarded as proof against
animal poisons, and it is very good for hunting mice, lying in
wait at their holes, and sometimes burrowing for them. The
spiny projections on its skin make it a formidable foe to tackle.

214

CHAPTER XXIX

Feeding Adult Birds in Covert

The management of Pheasants whilst they are in covert,
which they are expected to be for nearly six months in the
year — at any rate, from September until February — taxes
the ingenuity of the keeper and his resourcefulness quite as
much as on the rearing-field ; in other words, his anxieties,
as to the measure of sport to be afforded, are based upon the
successful management of his charge whilst within the confines
of the covert. In addition to the multifarious enemies in
the form of vermin, he has a still greater enemy to contend
with, or rather he may have, namely, the poacher, the latter
existing either as the rank out-and-out poacher or as the
pottering sportsman, whose observant methods enable him
to take advantage of Pheasants that have strayed from the
coverts, through which channel a considerable number of
birds may, in a single season, be lost to the lawful owner.

Naturally the sportsman who devotes a large amount of
time and a great deal of expense in connection with the arti-
ficial rearing of Pheasants, expects the keeper to be able to
produce a good show of birds when the time for shooting the
covert arrives. Not only must the birds be plentiful, but
they must be strong on the wing, and in good fettle, which
they will certainly not be unless they are liberally fed, or the
conditions are such that the coverts yield an abundance of
natural food in the form of beech-nuts, acorns, etc.

The fundamental principle of the complete preservation
of the Pheasants in the coverts is based upon the keeper's

215

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

ability to prevent the birds from straying, and if he can suc-
cessfully do this, his responsibilities are not only materially
lightened, but when the day of reckoning arrives, both master
and servant, to say nothing of the guests in sport, will vie
with each other in good fellowship, and feel amply rewarded
for the expenditure and labour inseparable from the sport of
Pheasant-shooting.

Five dominant factors stand pre-eminent in encouraging
birds to stray from the coverts, and these are : — (a) The
absence of drinking water ; (d) shortness of food ; (c) the
search for acorns ; (d) the withdrawal of the gun from the
covert ; (e) lastly, the natural withdrawal of the birds from
the covert during the breeding season.

Only the two causes first named are under the control of
the keeper, though he may, to some extent, modify the third
cause in the straying of birds ; therefore, the matter resolves
itself into the best and most practical method of obtaining the
object he has in view.

Most of the shooting gazettes have in their advertisements
notices respecting the straying of Pheasants, and specifics
advertised which the proprietors guarantee will prevent
Pheasants from straying ; but as the author has not had any
experience of these, he is not in a position to say whether
they possess the charm ascribed by the proprietors, though
probably some of his readers have had practical experience of
these various " Stay at Home " mixtures.

In the writer's opinion, the best method for preventing
Pheasants straying from coverts is to give them plenty of
food and water, and if this is done in a thoroughly systematic
manner, the birds will have little inclination to stray very far.
Shortage of food, shortage of water, irregularity in feeding,
and the seduction of the birds by pot-hunting neighbours,
through the scattering of tempting cereals, raising the planting

216

-<,

FEEDING ADULT BIRDS IN COVERT

of buck-wheat, etc., are, as previously stated, the prime causes
for the birds wandering. The author attaches as much im-
portance to the regularity of feeding as aught else in safe-
guarding the birds from straying.

When the snow is on the ground and soft on the surface.
Pheasants have very little inclination to wander far from home,
preferring, as in the case of animals, the warmth and shelter
which a well-constructed covert affords ; in fact, so great is
their dislike to snow, no matter whether on trees or on the
ground, that they will readily congregate in a tree from which
the snow has been knocked off the branches, and remain
sitting there for hours throughout the day, and will feed off
the young and tender shoots within their reach, rather than
descend in search of food.

Some gamekeepers take advantage of this fact and dis-
lodge the snow from the branches of some of the fir-trees
by means of a long pole, an act which the Pheasants readily
appreciate by roosting therein.

It is a very good plan to sow a patch of buck-wheat, and
also one of Jerusalem artichokes, near to the coverts, as these
two foods offer the strongest inducements to Pheasants, and
the mere fact of their existence adjacent to a plantation will
keep Pheasants at home better than all the anti-straying
mixtures in the world.

The foods that they are most fond of are : Maize or
Indian corn, dari, beans, peas, wheat, oats ; together
with such fruits as raisins and acorns ; likewise potatoes
and various green stuffs, e.g., kale, cabbage, clover, mustard,
and such roots as turnips, etc.

Most game-food firms make a speciality of " Covert Seed
Mixtures," the cost of which averages 8s. per bushel of 56 lbs.,
and such will be found very useful as well as economical for

the purposes required. Dari seed of good quality can be

217

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

bought for about 7s. per bushel, and an occasional feed of
this will materially help to prevent birds from straying ; but
as previously stated, no food of any kind, natural or artificial,
will keep birds at home, unless there is a sufficiency of it,
which they are able to obtain with regularity, and above all
have free access to water.

The reason why Pheasants are inclined to stray after a
feed on acorns is due to the large amount of tannin or
astringent matter contained in the acorn. This creates a
degree of thirst, so that unless water be readily accessible, the
birds will wander to find it, and the habit, once acquired, like
every other vice, becomes chronic ; the precedent thus estab-
lished soon leads to others following.

Make a point of feeding the birds early in the morning,
exactly at the same hour, and again at night, just about one
hour before they go to roost, because if the night feed is left
too late, this acts as another incentive to stray, it being con-
trary to the rules of nature to roost on an empty stomach.

It is in the covert that the keeper has to " condition his
birds," and he cannot do this without an abundance of food,
good in quality, reasonable in quantity, regularly given, and
judiciously changed from one variety to another. As with
human beings, a change of food is distinctly beneficial, and
the epicurean views of the Pheasant cannot afford to be
ignored, otherwise it will take upon itself to search " Fresh
fields and pastures new."

The majority of keepers are in favour of maize, and there
is no doubt that it has a higher feeding value than any other
cereal ; but its continued use leads to an excessive deposit of
fat, not only around the internal organs, but also between the
skin and flesh, rendering the latter rather dark in colour. It
has been asserted by epicures that it makes the birds tougher
than they ought to be. It may be given either whole or

218

FEEDING ADULT BIRDS IN COVERT

crushed, preferably the latter. Maize contains more carbo-
hydrates than oats, but it is deficient in salts ; nevertheless its
digestibility is greater than that of oats, but it is totally
unsuited for very young birds, owing to its deficiency in
mineral salts.

The following analysis of maize shows the various percent-
ages of its component parts : —

Water ....

12.7

Proteids ....

lO.I

Fat ... .

4.7

Carbo-hydrates

. 68.6

Cellulose ....

2.3

Salts ....

1.6

Another advantage of maize is that it is practically of very
little use to small birds, so that there will be no waste from
this cause.

The carbo-hydrates are principally starch and saccharine,
both of which are heat-producing and fat-forming. The
albuminoids, carbo-hydrates and fats are the three principal
constituents required for feeding Pheasants, and the best pro-
portion is five of carbo-hydrates to one of albuminoids.

Wheat and barley are both excellent foods. Barley is
rich in carbo-hydrates, as it contains about 66 per cent., and
has an advantage over maize, as it only contains about half
the quantity of fat. When this cereal is cheap, it constitutes
a good and economical food for covert feeding, but it is
spurious economy to buy cheap barley. Good barley will
weigh from 53 to 58 lbs. to the bushel.

Buck-wheat is another valuable seed, usually costing about
22s. per sack of 4 bushels, and Pheasants are very fond
of this grain, which contains 35 per cent, of carbo-hydrates,
43 per cent, of fibre, 4^ per cent, of albuminoids and 13 per
cent, of water.

219

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

When speaking of the formation of coverts, reference was
made to the planting of a patch of buck-wheat. There are
several species of this plant, but they are all natives of tem-
perate parts of China, North-west India, and Central Asia,
from whence they were introduced to this country. The
prefix buck is a corruption of the German word buche,
meaning beech, because the fruit of these plants is similar in
shape to that of beech-nuts. The common buck-wheat is an
annual plant, with heart-shaped leaves, and a pink stem,
growing to a height of 2 or 3 feet. It will grow very well
on a poor sandy soil, but it is very sensitive to low tem-
peratures, and a night's frost will very often destroy it. The
best time to sow is the middle of May or early in June. It
grows rapidly under favourable conditions, attaining maturity
in twelve or fourteen weeks. To sow i acre of ground, i
bushel of seed will be required, and the latter should be drilled
in rows about 12 inches apart, care being taken not to
sow the seed deeper than about half an inch. If planted
in the months stated, it will be ready for cutting early in
September, but as parts of the plant are still green at this
season, it requires care in harvesting, though it is not very
likely that the game-preserver will want to grow buck-wheat
for the purpose of harvesting the seed, this being left to the
birds to gather, though many keepers do stack buck-wheat,
and scatter the dried plant about the coverts at feeding-time.
It is an excellent plan to have small stacks of wheat, barley,
or buck- wheat here and there in the coverts, so that the birds
have ready access to food ; but care must be taken to turn
the ears or heads of the grain inwards, otherwise there will
not be much left as food for the Pheasants. The placing of
food stacks in the covert constitutes a very efficient and
economical method of preventing the birds from straying, and
it is one commonly resorted to by gamekeepers. A food stack

FEEDING ADULT BIRDS IN COVERT

in a covert is shown in the accompanying illustration. The
author strongly recommends gamekeepers to have a number
of these stacks about their coverts, particularly during severe
weather, so that a portion can be pulled out and scattered as
required.

In addition to dry grain a liberal allowance of roots and
other vegetables are requisite and invaluable owing to the
amount of water that they contain ; in fact, any shortage of
water can be in part supplanted by a plentiful supply of such
vegetable matter.

As already stated, a free supply of water is a sine qua
non for keeping Pheasants for covert, though various con-
trivances are employed as receptacles for water. Of what-
ever nature these are, the keeper should see that they are
kept well filled.

Most game-food firms, as well as manufacturers of poultry
and Pheasant appliances, are vendors of water fountains, but
the choice of such is more a matter for individual consideration.

With regard to the method in which grain, etc., is
supplied to birds, there are many ingenious contrivances
on the market, and some of these are shown in the chapter
dealing with " Appliances of the Pheasantry." Many keepers
scatter their grain over a wide area of ground, so as to
give the birds plenty of occupation, and the only pre-
caution that is necessary, when food is supplied in this
manner, is to guard against fouling of the ground, which
can be done by shifting the situation of the feeding area.

The straying of hand-reared Pheasants is often due to
the older birds setting a bad example to the younger ones,
as the former may easily find their way back to covert,
whereas the latter, thus decoyed, may be unable to do so.
By driving deserters into covert with a dog, a lesson may be
taught, as fright certainly constitutes one measure of prevention.

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

The straying of Pheasants is a subject that has given
rise to a great deal of discussion, and a considerable
amount of literature has from time to time been published
in connection with the matter, which is one of vital interest
in game preservation. In order to obtain the views of
head-keepers concerning it, the editors of the Gamekeeper
for June 1909 opened their columns to competition, awarding
a prize for the best essay, and the selected one appeared
in the issue of the following month, being from the pen
of Thomas Bamford, head-keeper to the Earl of Clarendon,
which the author has taken the liberty of reproducing.
Mr Bamford says : —

"The straying of Pheasants is a matter which causes
the keeper perhaps more anxiety than any of the obstacles
he is called upon to surmount, especially on a small shoot,
or where the coverts are situated near the boundaries.
Needless to say, tame Pheasants are of a roving disposi-
tion, which can never be altered, although much may be
done by taking the earliest opportunity of checking their
first attempt to stray beyond certain limits, and attending
to the many details that have a tendency to make home
comforts. One of the first matters to be considered is
quietude, for without this straying will not be prevented,
no matter how favourably situated in other respects.
Pheasants will not tolerate a covert that has to be continu-
ally disturbed ; therefore every effort should be made to
keep the covert free from anything of a disturbing nature.
Pheasants bred in a wild state are naturally stay-at-home
birds, and nothing but constant disturbance and lack of
food will cause them to desert the locality in which they
are reared. It is not quite so with tame birds, for as
soon as they become independent of their foster-mothers

FEEDING ADULT BIRDS IN COVERT

the rambling fit takes them, and being quite ignorant of
the geography of the neighbourhood, beyond a few yards
around where their coops are placed, they go rambling
on, and if not checked, eventually lose themselves. This
is why it is so important that driving-in should be resorted
to as soon as they begin to stray even a short distance
from the covert. Each day they will go further out, but
by constantly being driven back will gain a knowledge of
the locality, and get their line of flight for home. It is
not perhaps a good plan to allow the birds no law beyond
the covert fence, especially if there is plenty of space
between the covert and the boundary of the manor, for
it must be remembered to make home surroundings com-
fortable, the birds must be allowed some open space. The
need of this is most felt probably after a wet night, and
when the covert is too dense to admit sufficient air to
dry the birds within. Open space, too, is appreciated as
a means of escape from the drip of the wet trees. Where
space will allow, it is a good plan to grant so much law
outside the covert, and never drive in beyond it, say limit
to one field or about 300 yards. If this can be done
birds will give less trouble, but no hard and fast rule can
be laid down, as so much depends upon the situation of
the shoot. Perhaps one of the greatest inducements to
keep Pheasants at home is to leave small plots of corn
standing adjoining the coverts. When this can be done
not only will it act as a natural feeding ground, but will
provide amusement for the birds, and will help to pass
time which otherwise might be spent in straying over the
boundary. Presuming that Pheasants have reached the
straying age, it is most essential that attention should be
paid to the feeding, not perhaps so much as to what the
food consists of but as to how and when it is given ; for

223

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

instance, it is a mistake to feed one morning at six and
the next at seven. Any delay in feeding will have a
tendency to cultivate the propensity to stray. Punctuality
and regularity should be strictly adhered to. If food is
not there birds will not wait but make off in search of
it, and that food may be found in a neighbouring shoot.
At this time of year, for preference, the morning feed
may consist of a mixture of maize, wheat, dari, and a
little hemp-seed, as soon as the birds come down from
roost. Feed in the evening about an hour before roosting-
time on soft food of an appetising nature, thus giving
them an inducement to put in an appearance and roost
at home. Harvest rakings stacked on the feed-places
provide amusement, and do much in the way of keeping
birds from straying. Many so-called non-straying mixtures
and such-like nostrums advertised as a means of preventing
roaming are best left alone.

" Another means sometimes employed to prevent Pheasants
straying is corn steeped in a strong decoction of quassia
and thrown down in any place where the birds are given
to stray. This is of little use. Rely wholly on suitable and
liberal feeding, with constant attention to judicious driving-
in. A keeper will need to be particularly active as regards
driving-in during a fog, for at no time do Pheasants seem
so persistent in breaking out as under the cover of a dense
fog. At such time a good steady old retriever will render
valuable aid in detecting birds that the keeper would be
unable to see.

" Precautions should be taken to drive birds home with-
out forcing them to flight in a thick fog, as once on the
wing they are lacking in all knowledge of locality, and
there is no knowing where they will finally alight."

224

CHAPTER XXX

Pheasant-farming

That Pheasant-farming can be made a lucrative form of
rural husbandry may be fairly assumed, when one comes
to consider what a number of game farms there are in
various parts of the United Kingdom, though many of
such farming operations are not confined to Pheasants
only, but to various other game birds, such as partridges,
more especially Hungarian partridges, the wild duck, etc.

Doubtless many readers will say that game-farming,
like the majority of other industrial pursuits, is becoming
overdone, whilst it has one striking disadvantage over the
ordinary commercial occupation, and that is that it is a
very speculative undertaking, as a single season of bad
luck is followed by serious losses. It is a pleasurable form
of occupation, and one that, with a reasonable amount of
capital, the acquirement of suitable premises, along with
the possession of sound judgment in the selecting and
mating of the stock birds, combined with a reasonable
measure of success, can be made fairly profitable.

Game-farmers do not, as a rule, become millionaires
or even moderately wealthy men — in fact, it is only those
possessed of capital and a special aptitude for following
such a pursuit that ought to undertake the management of
a game farm. Most of the game farms are situated in
the south or south-east of England, comparatively few in
Scotland, Ireland and Wales. On some of these farms
Pheasants for covert purposes only are kept, whereas others
r 225

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

combine the breeding of fancy birds for the aviary, and
when there is convenience for doing so the breeding of
fancy Pheasants materially assists to augment the income.

When considering the county in which it is desirous
of commencing a game farm, it is necessary to study the
topography of the district, it being essential that the
premises are within reasonable distance of a railway
station, as the majority of transactions in game-farming
are by rail. Not only is it necessary that a railway be
handy, but equally important that there is a tolerably good
train service, as the despatch of both live birds and eggs
is one in which the less delay there is the better.

Some game farms are what may be termed already
made, others have to undergo a gradual conversion — i.e.,
the young coverts have to be made, and the land, etc.,
drained. If there is a small covert and a fair amount of
grass land, especially upland pasture, the premises ought,
with a reasonable amount of expenditure, to form suitable
ones for game-farming operations to be carried on.

It is useless to start a game farm where the land is
insufficient, because it is an indisputable and well estab-
lished fact that Pheasants kept in pens that are constantly
being moved from one part of the land to another are
very much healthier and stronger birds than others situated
where no such arrangement can exist, or at any rate
does not exist. Some Pheasant-farmers boast that their
birds are shifted on to fresh ground every day. It must
be a tremendous amount of trouble to change birds on to
fresh soil every day, in practice at any rate, moreover there
is no necessity for it, and if there is any wastage of
labour in farming, no matter whether purely agricultural
or that more directly concerned with game, it is hard to
conceive of the ultimate prosperity of such an undertaking.

226

PHEASANT-FARMING

Economy of labour, economy of food, and various other
economics have to be practised by the game-farmer in
order to succeed. In other words, success is based upon
careful husbandry.

A gravelly soil, especially if of a hilly nature, good
drainage, a free supply of water, and a well - sheltered
position, are desirable features for the establishment of a
game farm. A low-lying piece of land, marshy, or one
that is liable to be washed by the sea-board, is totally
unsuitable for such purposes. Damp low-lying ground is
not land for the game-farmer, and he indeed who would
undertake to establish his farm upon land of this nature
could only look forward to failure, unless, of course,
miraculous aid intervened.

The best form of pens to erect are those which are
movable, though on many game farms no such pheasantries
exist. Movable pens for Pheasant-breeding can be con-
structed of wire hurdles by simply bolting them together,
as depicted in the accompanying illustration.

The lower portion, about 2 feet from the ground, is
covered with sheet-iron, which shelters the birds from the
wind and from fright. To each pen there is a gate and

WIRE HURDLE MOVABLE PENS FOR PHEASANT-BREEDING

a lock and a corrugated iron shelter, and the top is covered
with cord netting, which prevents the birds from injuring

themselves when they fly against it. The best size for

227

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

the pens is i8 feet long by 14 feet, and twelve such pens
can be had for ^60 or thereabouts.

Smaller pens, 8 feet in length by 8 feet in breadth and
3 feet high, are used by many. Low roofs are provided
in the corners for shelter.

These pens can be shifted about three times a year,
though some only move them once a year. If more

PORTABLE WOODEN HURDLES FOR PHEASANT PENS

economical structures are desired, the prospective game-
farmer must buy cheap second-hand timber for the uprights,
and a supply of 2-inch mesh netting, boarding up the
bottom of the pens 18 inches from the ground. A
most useful form of improved portable wooden hurdles to
form Pheasant pens are as depicted in the annexed illus-
tration. The top, 4 feet 6 inches, is covered with 2-inch mesh
netting, and the bottom boarded up 18 inches from the
ground. The hurdles are made 6 feet long and 6 feet high,
but not painted. The prices are 5s. each, but hurdles

228

PHEASANT-FARMING

6 feet by 6 feet, with a doorway in the centre, are 8s. 6d.
each. The hurdles can be obtained from Messrs Boulton
and Paul of Norwich. The same firm make a 6 feet
high movable fencing, with the upper portion of ij inch
meshing, at 4s. per yard, the lower part being of galvanised
sheet iron 2 feet high. Doorways, angular iron pillars for
the corners, reversible troughs,
and various other etceteras can
be obtained for a trifling ad-
ditional cost. Cord netting can
also be supplied for the tops.
This is a capital form of fenc-
ing, and one that is efficient
and economical.

Runs that have been used
the preceding year should either
be turned over with the plough
or trenched, and then well
dressed with hot lime sub-
sequently exposed to the air
from the autumn until the fol-
lowing spring. The action of the ozone in the air, to-
gether with that of the lime, is one of the most powerful
disinfectant agents that can be employed, and it is always
advisable to adopt some such plan in pheasantry pens. It
must be borne in mind that Pheasants, unlike fowls, are,
whilst in the pens, exposed to all conditions of weather
both night and day, though the author considers that a
certain amount of protection, especially during winter, is a
necessary part, though we will not say indispensable portion,
of the Pheasant-rearer's plant.

The other portions of the plant, which will either have
to be purchased in the material or else already constructed,

229

HIGH MOVABLE FENCING

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

comprise the Pheasant coops, hatching - boxes, feeding
utensils, a portable boiler, a fodder house, baskets for the
transit of birds and for eggs, vermin traps, incubators,
etc. etc.

Egg cabinets to hold several thousand eggs should be
on every game farm, as the eggs keep fresher much longer
than when they are stored on bran, etc. The tray should
run in and out of the cabinet, and the eggs fit into holes
drilled in the trays.

The best time to commence a Pheasant farm is at the
beginning of the year, so that the opening operations, if a
successful season, will at once bring immediate return,
through the sale of eggs, which constitutes the principal
source of revenue in all game-farming operations. Early
maturity and sheltered pens are mainly conducive to early
production of eggs, and the highest prices are obtained for
eggs that can be put down early. For instance, eggs which
can be sold in April up to the loth of May are worth about
;^4 per hundred, or ;C3^ per thousand. From May the loth
to the 15th, I OS. less per hundred, and from the latter date
to the 20th, another los. less, dropping by increments of
I OS. every five days, up to the end of May, so that eggs
that were worth ;^4 per hundred in April are during the
last week of May only worth one half. After the date last
named it is not a wise plan for anyone to purchase eggs — •
in fact, it is against Pheasant-rearing to set any eggs later
than the 2 ist of May. However, Pheasants can be reared even
later on than this, but every Pheasant-rearer will admit that
the late broods are in 90 per cent, of cases at least failures.
As it is, Pheasant-shooting begins a month too soon, and
precisely the same remarks apply to partridge-shooting. The
former should begin on ist November, and partridge-shooting
on the date as at present fixed for Pheasant-shooting.

230

PHEASANT-FARMING

The most expensive items in connection with game-
farming, during the foundation of the farm, will be the cost
of plant, the cost of the stock birds, together with the surplus
capital required for a year's independency for the farmer
and his dependents to live upon.

Regarding the stocking of the farm, the author desires
to say that it is impossible to acquire better birds than some
pure Mongolians, some pure Prince of Wales, and some

PHEASANT COOP

pure Chinese male birds, together with a few Reeves'
Pheasants. The hen birds should consist of pure Black
Necks, pure Mongolian hens, and pure Prince of Wales
hens. This will give sufficient variety to supply eggs, both
from pure birds and from cross-bred ones.

Needless the eggs from pure birds are much higher
in price than those from half or three-quarter bred stock.
The most useful cross of all to the game-farmer is the first
cross Mongolian Black-Necked ; the second one, the Prince
of Wales cock with the Mongolian hen ; the third one, the
Prince of Wales with the Black Neck ; the fourth one, the
Mongolian cock with the pure Chinese hen. The main
object for the game-farmer is to obtain clients who will
patronise him from season to season, and this can be done

231

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

by supplying birds that are large in size, robust in constitu-
tion, early to mature, prolific, sharp on the wing, strong on
the wing, high on the wing, and last but not least, brilliant in
their plumage.

A record of all eggs laid, the dates when they were laid,
the nests and pens from which they were derived, and any
other particulars, should be registered in a book specially
kept for the purpose. In order to succeed there is one
axiom that must never be lost sight of, and that is to keep
one eye on the ledger, and the other eye on what other
game-farmers are doing, and this apart from the methodical
habits and strenuous existence required by this and other
rural industries.

If fancy Pheasants have to be combined with those of
the covert, though of course kept quite apart from such,
then the best birds to keep are the Golden Pheasant, the
Silver Pheasant, Amherst Pheasant, Soemmerring's Pheasant,
Japanese Pheasant, and Reeves' Pheasant, though the last-
named species both belong to the genus P/iasianus, but of
the two birds P. Reevesii is the one that is most eagerly
sought after by gentlemen for introducing into their coverts.
These birds are always worth at least a couple of guineas
a pair, and their magnificent plumage combined with their
strong flight are a great recommendation.

Elliot's Pheasant is sometimes introduced into coverts,
and like Shaw's Pheasant, belongs to the same genus as
the two last named, but for a description of these and others
belonging to the same or different genera the reader is
referred to the various chapters relating thereto.

For keeping fancy Pheasants, very elaborate portable
aviaries are manufactured, and though somewhat expensive
to purchase, their construction is so thoroughly well done
that once purchased, they will last for more than a lifetime.

232

PHEASANT-FARMING

The illustrations depicted are the registered copyrights of
Messrs Boulton & Paul, and any particulars concerning them
can be obtained from the firm mentioned. The houses re-

W^.^'^

1 --^ [ 'V-

AVIARY FOR PHEASANTS

ferred to are an ornament to any gentleman's premises, and
materially add to the beauty of the occupants. They are, of
course, houses which are almost exclusively used for fancy
Pheasants — in fact, it is hardly likely that anyone would con-
template purchasing such elaborate structures for ordinary
Pheasant-raising.

233

CHAPTER XXXI

High Pheasants — How to Show on Flat or Difficult
Ground — Some Opinions of Gamekeepers

Sportsmen frequently complain of the low flight of Pheasants,
and there is no doubt that Pheasant-shooting, unless ac-
companied by high-flying birds, becomes a very poor form
of sport, and in some instances even a dangerous one. Every
keeper likes to show high Pheasants, and on some estates the
natural surroundings are such that the birds are compelled to
adopt high flight, whereas on other estates there is nothing
but a good system of management to produce high-flying
birds. Another very important factor in the author's opinion
is to breed only from those birds which by instinct are not
only vigorous in their flight, but also good at "towering."
In every covert there is a certain class of birds which are
conveniently designated "Skulkers," and this remark is
particularly applicable to many birds that have been released
from the aviaries, and it is an open question whether it is
advisable to turn penned birds out again into covert. The
effects of domestication, frequent association with man, and
the acquirement of a barn-door fowl sort of existence is
inseparable from the acquirement of skulking habits. The
mere presence of such birds in a covert establishes a pre-
cedent for similar habits amongst other Pheasants. There-
fore the deductions to be derived from the foregoing remarks
are well worthy of every Pheasant- rearer's consideration.
It is in the practical exposition of high-flying birds that
the keeper is likely to receive his greatest reward. In the

234

HIGH PHEASANTS

introduction of the Reeves' Pheasant and the Prince of
Wales into coverts for hybridisation with the other varieties
constitutes one means conducive towards the production of
high-flying Pheasants.

The following essays are written by head-keepers who
have taken particular pains to ensure high Pheasants being
brought to the guns, and have expressed their opinions in
the form of essays, sent in response to a competition, opened
by the editors of the Gamekeeper. These essays are as
follows. The first one is from the pen of Mr George Beilby,
head-keeper, Kirklevington Hall, Yarm : —

" The problem of showing high Pheasants on flat or
difficult ground is one of the most seasonable and one of
the most difficult to solve on shooting days, as there are
so many things which may happen to upset the most careful
plans. I think the wind is the worst of all if blowing from
the wrong direction. Shoots may be classed into two kinds,
namely, all Pheasants, and a mixed shoot — I mean a shoot
with a good percentage of ground game, which every keeper
knows is decreasing very rapidly, making things no better
for winged game.

" I will take a place where there is nothing but
Pheasants kept. The first thing that must be seen to is to
have plenty of covert at the end of all drives or beats, so
that the birds may hide when driven up. This should be
attended to in the winter months if possible, as it will allow
the grass, etc., to grow through it and make it more natural
as well as bind it together. Next, the birds must be watched
to see where their favourite places are for working in and
out of the coverts. If they are not working in the direction
in which they will be required to go over the guns, the man
in charge must do his best to get them there, by arranging

23S

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

his feeds so that they take the right way naturally. Then
when the time comes to be forced or driven, they will go
more readily.

" Now, to get the birds to rise and fly high is not nearly
so difficult as a good many imagine. But of course there
are exceptions to every rule, and the man in charge must
use a certain amount of discretion according to the situation
he is placed in, and the hundred and one obstacles he has
to meet. Stretch wire netting about 3 feet to 3 feet 6 inches
high right across your beat in any direction in which
you want to corner the birds, with at least 50 yards at
each side, so that the birds don't run past the sides. The
netting must be set well inside of the covert, so that the
birds cannot see the guns when driven up to the wire, and
it must be at least 50 yards from wire to gun. Where
there are a good many birds in one beat, it will be an
advantage to put a second lot of wire about 25 yards
further back from the other, setting it in a half-circle
or half-moon shape, taking care to leave about 20 yards
at each side open, so that a certaiii amount of the birds will
pass. The rise should have abundance of under-cover, and
the trees should be well thinned out to allow the birds to
rise clean and easily. At the end of the drive at the outside
of the covert there should be two or three men with white
flags at even distances apart. Special care must be taken
with these men so that the birds, when driven up, cannot
see them or their flags ; this can be easily done by making
some sort of butt — for instance, a couple of stack bars woven
with spruce, etc., will answer well. The guns should always
be placed where the man in charge wants them, as two
ideas, no matter how good they are, very seldom work out
to the satisfaction of either party. Now drive the birds.
Drive in the ordinary way until you get within 50 or

236

HIGH PHEASANTS

60 yards from the first wire, then stop the line, advancing
one man in every 40 yards or less to work up the birds.
When these men have got the thickest of the birds up, the
line can be steadily advanced, taking great care not to move
too quick or get too near the advanced men. The men who
are working in advance must be men with an interest in the
work, or they will be liable to put the birds up too fast, or
leave a good many behind them. As to the men at the
end of the coverts with the white flags, as soon as the
birds start to fly over them, they should work their flags
continually, as the birds will not see them until they are
well on the wing, and are right over the top of them then.
As soon as the birds see these flags, up they rise, and the
next objects they see are the guns which make them rise
higher. Some might think that this would turn them, but
it is far from that, as they are well on the wing, and the
flag-man gives them the spurt at the right place. It will
be found if the above is carried out properly, the birds will
be as high as any ordinary gun can reach them, with a
good percentage of them even higher. This has been
worked successfully for high Pheasants risen from low ground
as well as level."

George Legg, head-keeper, Buriton, Petersfield, referring
to high Pheasants, says : —

"The above is a problem not easily solved, and although

science has done and is still doing wonders in high flying,

the time has not yet arrived when we can drive our Pheasants

out of a level cover like Shepherd's Bush, and make them

use their own ' quite safe flip-flap ' to anything like the

rocketing height that we soar to there !

" High shooting is invaluable in these days, both from a

237

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

letting and a sporting point of view, and lucky are those
for whom nature has settled the question of high birds.
I am, perhaps, one of those lucky ones, living as I do near
the South Downs, just on the borders of Hampshire and
Sussex. The stiff slopes of some of our shooting ground
are ideal spots, and when some of the guns who stand below
hill don't come off well, it is no uncommon thing for us to
hear the remark, ' Too high ! too high ! ' But we also have
some low level covers, and the difficulty has always been
how to get good shots from these. Our own level covers
are small, and consequently not so difficult to manage as
large level covers, but all level shooting, whether big or
small, can be made more interesting by a little care and
thought on the part of those who are in authority.

" First, then, study the wind before you approach a small
cover. Often shooting plans are made beforehand which,
if carried out when the wind is all against you, must result in
certain failure. Have an alternative way to beat your cover.
You cannot manage the wind !

" Then, again, many people make a mistake by putting the
birds up at just one particular spot, because it is the most
likely way to get them forward into the next beat. Perhaps
the birds always fly low and badly from that spot : whereas
if they were flushed a bit farther back or at another angle in
the cover, it would make all the difference.

''Placing the guns. — Very much depends on where the
guns are placed as to what sort of shooting they will get.
The best way, whether outside or inside a level cover, is for
the guns to stand well back so that they can see which birds
are going to be worth shooting at. I have seen some good
results ofot thus. I have seen some fine shooting when birds
have been driven out of a big cover across a field say five
chains across, the guns all standing the opposite side of the

238

HIGH PHEASANTS

field. Of course, some birds go back, but generally they
find the host and another gun ready for them if they do.

" Always make a good rise in a big cover, and remember
this, that you can drive a Pheasant almost where you choose
while he is on his legs, and with plenty of strength you
can often repeat a good rise by working the birds round
again.

"Flags in front and on flanks. — Flags are a thing to
which game is not by any means accustomed. It is a good
plan to use about three conspicuous ones, if the master will
consent, keeping two of them on the right and left to act as
flankers, and one right in front of the rise. This will usually
have the desired effect of making the birds get up. Even
if it does turn some back, and if it can be arranged so that
the birds have decided the line of flight they mean to take
before they see the flag, so much the better.

" Condition of birds and date of shooting. — Much depends
on the condition the birds are in as to how they will fly.
Keep feeding twice per day with soft food right through
October and even November, till the first shoot, and don't
dispense with biscuit-meal and greaves too soon, as after all
the latter does not cost more than wheat or maize, etc.

" The later the date of shooting the higher the birds ; but
I do not advocate that the first shoot should be much after
the middle of November, as it is not fair to the keeper to
have to keep his birds at home longer than this.

" Uncommon sounds conducive to high flying. — Everyone
knows what a keen ear the Pheasant possesses, and how it
can be trained to come to a whistle or almost any other call.
It knows also every little warning note of the smaller birds,
such as the blackbird, thrush, chaffinch, robin, etc. Let
the blackbird give the ' Chuck ! chuck ! ' note of warning,
and every Pheasant is on the alert for a stoat or weasel.

239

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

The different notes of a blackbird and other birds which
tell of a hawk near by are all well understood by the keen-
eared Pheasant. To imitate the squeal of a rabbit, the call
of a hawk, or any other unnatural sound may help in a
Pheasant rise. My late master often told me that a fox
in a corner was the best thing to make birds get up."

"In conclusion I thank the proprietors of our little paper,
the Gaitiekeeper. I fear they have set me too hard a sum,
when they come to put my words together, but I know they
want us all to try our luck."

A third essay on the matter is as follows : —

" I shall endeavour to show how we get high Pheasants
ont his estate. But do not let our readers imagine that we
in the low, flat counties can make Pheasants such rocketers
as can be easily done by rising them from on high, and going
over guns placed in a deep valley. No ! we do not assume
to do impossibilities. On the ground that is adapted for
high birds the battle is nearly won, but on the ground that
is as flat as the proverbial pancake it is otherwise.

" I am supposing that I am dealing with a large cover
which measures considerably more in length than width.
At the extreme is a large root-field, and into this field the
birds are slowly driven. The utmost care must be taken to
have the sides and extreme limit of the root-field well stopped.
A few rolls of wire netting judiciously placed will greatly
assist the stops. When the birds come to the net, and have
plenty of roots for hiding, they mostly make themselves
content, but if the wire was not present they would in a
marvellous manner sneak away in twos or threes, between
the stops, however vigilant the stops may be.

" We have now beaten the cover slowly and carefully, and

240

HIGH PHEASANTS

given the birds plenty of time to get forward into the root-
field. The birds have an open ride to cross, and I have
heard that a great number have crossed into the roots. All
noises now are rigorously subdued. The guns take their
places. The beaters divide from the centre, right and left,
and take a wide circle outside the flank stops. A responsible
leader goes with each company of beaters, and he generally
keeps placing a man here and there to stiffen the flanks.
The remaining beaters have now reached the outside stops.
Having lined out, they are ordered to remain still until
further orders. The head-keeper must most carefully notice
that the guns are properly placed, and that the flanks do
not press the birds too much ; also the greatest scrutiny
must be given to the wind and flight of birds. If they
are inclined to favour a certain direction, steps must be
immediately taken to push them over more evenly. All
beaters still remain stationary. About three keepers will
now advance from the stationary line of beaters. The
keepers, knowing their work, silently take the field of roots
towards the guns, judging from the shooting if they are going
too fast, and if the birds are going away without being shot
at. What a pretty sight for the sportsman rising 400 yards
in front of the gun ! What a height they attain before they
come in range! How beautifully they come all down the
line of guns by twos and threes !

"The keepers have now reached a certain distance from
the guns. I do not advise going too close ; it may cause a little
flush of birds, and they would be too near the guns to provide
a high shot. Then the keepers advance right and left and
go outside the flank stops, and from the main body of beaters.
All now advance in line towards the butts, walking slowly
and making no noise. If the head-keeper thinks that more
birds are in front, there is a possibility they may rise too
Q 241

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

thick ; consequently a mute halt is called, then again the
keepers advance with four or five staid beaters with them,
going slowly and quite mute. They will proceed until they
are nearly up to the guns, they then halt, each standing quite
still ; the line that was left in the rear now comes on ; little
noise is now made, and every foot of land must be brushed,
or birds will be inclined to squat, and possibly may endeavour
to go behind the beaters. The noise made by brushing
the root tops will be of great use. The birds on rising and
seeing the front line of beaters and keepers in front will soar
to a great height, and will provide some magnificent sporting
shots. Having to condense this article it is impossible to
give the thousand and one details of such a shoot. I have
seen eight hundred Pheasants killed in these ways, and what
is more, not a bird was smothered with shot."

An extract from an essay by Peter W. Watson, game-
keeper to His Highness Prince Eszterhazey, (Oldenburg)
Hungaria, was also inserted in the same number of the
Gamekeeper, and is as follows : —

" For several seasons I have used cord about 500 yards
long. The cord must be strong, not too heavy nor too thick.
Sewn on it every 4 feet, alternately, should be a red and
white flag. (Sewelling is the ordinary name for it.) The
cord should be wound round a windlass. Paths or small tracks
should be cut through the underwood 40 to 50 yards in
the covert from where the guns are placed. These paths
can be made without any further damage to the trees being
done than pruning off a few of the lower branches, unless
the plantation is spruce fir, when a wider opening ought to
be made, so that the Pheasants would be able to see the

cord, and not run under it. If there are no suitable trees

242

HIGH PHEASANTS

at the end of these openings a post should be firmly driven
into the ground at each end, and forked sticks about 4 feet
high stuck into the ground 15 to 20 yards apart to hang
the cord upon. All these preparations should be made the
day, or several days, before the shoot. On the morning
of the shoot these cords should be given into the charge of
an active keeper and a beater. The keeper of course will
have had explained to him a day or two previously just
what is expected of him. He should go to the first beat,
and after tying one end of the cord to the post or tree, the
beater takes hold of the windlass by the handle and walks
on, the frame of the windlass revolving round the middle
stick lets the cord out, when it can be put into its place by
the keeper who is coming up behind. The modern frame
or windlass, which I use, is much handier and lighter than
the old-fashioned one, which was hung over the neck and
belted round the waist, and which made the wearer look more
like the well-known barrel organ than a human being. An
estate with two or three of these cords, and an active man
to work them, and providing that man, or men, goes quietly
about the work, does not need more, as they can be shifted
from the first beat to the third, and from the second to the
fourth, unless the beats are a long way apart. I have used
the sewelling for stop purposes made with wing feathers,
but never found it so effective as the rags. I have also
used netting, both made from wire and string, to try and
get the birds to rise, and have seen birds rise well over it
sometimes, and at other times merely jump over it. The
reason for their jumping over it was, I think, that they were
used to it, so much being in use on nearly every estate.
Sewelling is better than netting, for nets stop all ground
game from going forward, and although perhaps it is not
shot, it is all the better when seen by your employer.

243

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

Perhaps, too, an old fox is sent back, which if it had been
sent forward might have cheered the heart of a sportsman,
and, who knows, might have got the poor keeper a better
name ? Now, if the seweHing is used, directly the Pheasants
run up within seeing distance, they halt, stretch their necks,
then up they go, never having seen such a thing before,
and hearing the beaters coming up behind they very seldom
turn and fly back, but will go high over the guns. If hand-
reared birds, they will rise and fly better than wild ones ;
this I have proved over and over again. My theory for
this being that the wild bird is so often disturbed by foxes
and other vermin — (are foxes vermin i*) — that they only
rise and fly far enough to get out of their way. Not so
with the hand-reared Pheasant. He is on most estates
watched by night and day from the minute he comes out of
the shell until the minute he falls to the shot, and when
shooting day comes with all the fresh sounds, and being
driven about as he has never been before, up he goes, and
as I said before, if flushed well in front of the guns, he
will go high enough."

244

CHAPTER XXXII

The Disinfection and Cleansing of the Aviary, Coops,
AND other Appliances of the Pheasantry

In the rearing of Pheasants it matters not how skilful and
how experienced a man may be, if he neglects the periodical
cleansing of both the fixed and portable portion of the plant,
disaster must inevitably occur sooner or later. Every
Pheasant-rearer knows perfectly well that one of the chief
causes operative in the production of the enormous losses
that sometimes occur amongst Pheasants is mainly ascribable
to infection, and that such sources of infection commonly
arise through appliances, such as coops, feeding vessels,
etc., having been fouled with the disease. The author
does not mean to say that all diseases of a communicable
nature can be controlled by disinfection, etc., because such
a view would be incorrect ; but it stands as a well-established
dictum that infectious diseases are more likely to make their
appearance in the rearing-field, aviary, etc., where the keeper
has not exercised sufficient care as to cleanliness, than
amongst birds in which a thorough system of cleansing
the coops and all feeding appliances has been rigidly
adhered to.

The rearing of game under artificial conditions is one
that calls for the exercise of a high degree of intelligence,
patience, perseverance, observance, resourcefulness, and
other qualifications of more or less importance. When

245

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

broods begin to die in a wholesale manner, one is naturally
forced to the conclusion that some specific, though un-
determined, infective disease producing agency, is at
work, and that its channels of communicability either
reside in the food, water, feeding vessels, coops, hands
of the attendants, or the ground upon which the birds
are reared.

It is only by what may be termed a " process of exclusion,"
isolation and disinfection, that such specific maladies can be
curtailed, more rarely stamped out. It is impossible to
dissociate heavy mortalities either in the rearing-field or
on the removal of the birds to the covert from specific
infectious causes, and as previously stated, the determination
of the actual causative agency is, as a rule, one of great
difficulty ; therefore, the moral is, to aim at prevention, and
if this fails, to attack the disease, by what the writer has
previously termed a "process of exclusion," which implies
thorough disinfection of all articles capable of being treated
by such disinfectants ; the immediate removal of the birds
as yet unaffected to fresh ground ; the destruction of all
sickly ones ; a change of food, also of the water supplied ;
together with strict personal supervision of the birds, which
really constitutes one of the first duties of a head-keeper
in spite of the fact that his under-man may be thoroughly
reliable.

There are so many details in connection with Pheasant-
rearing that any single individual may easily overlook
some of these, and the most trifling causes not infre-
quently form the nucleus or starting-point of what sub-
sequently turns into a most disastrous season for the
Pheasant-rearer.

Most Pheasant-rearers will admit, I believe, that the
best aviaries are those which can be shifted every season,

246

I . '.\, '■■'.! ''4,: :,

if If

■<,

o
u

DISINFECTION AND CLEANSING OF AVIARY

so that adult birds are not kept on the same ground as in the
preceding year. Portable pens are sold by many dealers in
game appliances, and as a rule the prices are usually
reasonable, but for a description of these the reader is referred
to that section of the work dealing with " Appliances of the
Pheasantry." The woodwork of the pheasantry should be
scraped, then brushed over with a solution of some strong
disinfectant, and afterwards lime-whitened, using freshly-
slaked lime for the purpose. This periodical lime-whitening
of the woodwork is of the greatest importance, and in carrying
it out it is better to employ a spraying apparatus, as this
insures all particles of the lime-whitening being brought into
contact with the interstices of the woodwork. Precisely the
same remarks are applicable to the coops before being
removed to the rearing-field. Mere surface cleaning of the
coops is of no use ; each coop must be washed with boiling
water and washing-soda, then brushed over with a strong
disinfecting fluid, and, finally, thoroughly sprayed inside with
freshly-prepared lime-wash. The more portable coops are
made the better they are to cleanse, and if made so that all
parts can be disunited the facility for cleansing is greatly
augmented. Unfortunately the coops are often kept in a
dirty condition, thus inviting the onset of disease. The
best fluid disinfectants for such purposes are Carbolic
Acid, Formalin, Pino-Eucalypt, Lysol, Pearson's Antiseptic,
Creolin, etc.

In some instances, especially in those cases where the
coops are infested with vermin, it is a good plan to first
of all scrub them out with boiling water, and then expose
them for a few hours to the combined vapours of Sulphur
and Formalin, for which purpose Sulpho- Formalin Candles
are sold, and the vapour emitted is very destructive to
minute forms of animal life. There are various other

247

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

gaseous disinfectants, several of which are prepared as
follows : —

Stilphurous Acid Gas

This is a very useful gaseous disinfectant, and one that
is very extensively employed in houses by local authorities,
as a means of disinfecting the premises, when there has been
an outbreak of some disease such as scarlatina, small-pox,
and so forth, in the human subject.

The coops require to be placed in a close shed, and
" Flowers of Sulphur," say a quarter of a pound, is allowed
to burn, by throwing it on the top of some red-hot coal, con-
tained on a shovel, the shed meanwhile having all windows,
doors, etc., closed.

Chloruie Gas

This is a powerful disinfectant and particularly suitable
when a gaseous disinfectant can be applied. It is made
by taking a mixture of manganese dioxide and common
salt, say half a pound of the former to a quarter of a pound
of the latter. A little oil of vitriol is then poured upon it,
and the shallow tin containing the mixture placed on a stand,
so that it can be gently heated with the flame of a spirit lamp
below. The gas is evolved, and will fill the shed, provided
the place is rendered air-tight. It is needless to remark that
no live-stock must be left inside, as both are very suffocating
gases.

The use of solid disinfectants about pheasantries in the
rearing-field is objectionable, as the birds are very liable to
pick up the gritty particles contained in such disinfectant

powders, which in all probability will lead to death.

248

DISINFECTION AND CLEANSING OF AVIARV

On some estates the Pheasant-rearer has to be content
with the same ground year after year, consequently the land
is very liable to become fouled, and disease fostered. When
a keeper is placed in this unfortunate position he must make
the best of that which is at his disposal, although the
uninitiated in the art of game-rearing may not be capable
of appreciating the tremendous disadvantages under which
he labours, attributing, in all probability, any measure of bad
luck either to his want of knowledge or to lack of perspicacity.

Under these conditions the game-rearer must above all
things avoid overcrowding the ground — in other words, he
must have his coops widely distributed, taking advantage of
the intervening spaces not occupied by the coops in the
preceding year.

The presence of insect life, grit, and young grass are
conducive towards success in Pheasant-rearing, and the
existence of all three quite compatible with the time-worn
rearing-field, though of course secondary to conditions
obtainable where fresh ground could be had each season.

Nest-boxes must be treated, so far as disinfection, etc.,
is concerned, in a manner similar to that applied to the
coops, as these appliances are equally liable to become media
for the transference of disease, first to the sittingf hen, and
from her to the brood. The presence of lice on broody hens
is well known to every gamekeeper and to every game-
rearer, and these vermin are readily transferred to the brood,
and subsequently to other broods. It is impossible for
Pheasants to thrive when affected in this manner, and it is
a very much commoner cause of birds dying, through the
irritation induced, than some people are apt to suppose.

Lice are transmitted from bird to bird both by direct
and indirect means. All broody hens should be critically
examined to see that they are free from lice, which ought

249

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

not to exist in a stock of well-kept poultry, and here is
just where the difficulty comes in, of ascertaining whether
common fowls are really well kept, as the author's experience
teaches him that the poultry -houses on many farms are kept
in a disgusting and filthy condition, being totally unfitted
for the well-being of the occupants.

250

CHAPTER XXXIII
Specific Diseases

Roup

This is a specific catarrhal affection affecting Pheasants,
domestic and other fowls, and one that is readily transferred
from the latter to the former, and there is no doubt that many
attacks of roup in pheasantries are brought into them by
fowls which have been previously infected. In some respects
this affection is analogous to distemper in the dog, with,
of course, its symptoms modified in accordance with the
anatomical construction of birds and mammals. In some
establishments this affection is constantly present, although
it may exist in its dormant form ready to revive whenever
conditions favourable to such present themselves. A wet
season and badly drained ground must be looked upon as
predisposing influences in the production of roup, though,
accepting the dictum that it is a specific or micro-organismal
disease, it would be impossible for roup to occur amongst
Pheasants unless infection — direct or indirect — had been
brought into the pheasantry. It is a most troublesome
complaint to eradicate, and rapidly spreads from bird to
bird irrespective of age, sex or breed ; nevertheless, it is a
disease that can, by carefully adjusted measures, be curtailed
in its spread, though, unfortunately, it is generally allowed
to disseminate through the carelessness of the attendant.
Various forms of roup have been described from time to
time by writers on the subject, who have been mainly guided

251

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

by the predominating symptoms ; thus, for instance, wet,
dry, and diphtheritic forms of roup, all of which are in
reality merely manifestations of identically the same com-
plaint ; therefore, any such distinctions are as unnecessary
as they are useless.

This complaint is less liable to attack Pheasants than
poultry, and when it does occur, the most economical
method of dealing with it is to destroy the affected
birds, so as to stamp out the trouble at the outset. It
is a disease easy to recognise, being characterised by a
watery discharge from the mouth and nostrils which is
purely of a catarrhal nature ; this discharge accumulates
around the nasal openings, and in the so-called dry form,
forms cheesy-like masses at the situation last named. When
this trouble makes its appearance in a brood the hen should
be examined and destroyed if affected, the birds being placed
in an artificial rearer. Thorough disinfection and the change
of the coops to fresh ground, along with attention to the
general welfare of the birds, are the main principles for the
guidance of the Pheasant-rearer.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis in Pheasants is identically the same as that
occurring in the domestic fowl and other gallinaceous birds,
in most of which it is a fairly common malady. It may be
defined as a specific infective complaint, communicable from
bird to bird by cohabitation, though infection in all proba-
bility mostly occurs by the digestive tract — hence the reason
why the liver and glands of the mesentery, or bowel sling,
are so commonly the seat of the lesions of this trouble.
When Pheasants feed off ground that has been previously

252

SPECIFIC DISEASES

infected by tuberculous fowls they are predisposed to in-
fection, as the evacuations of diseased birds contain the
organisms of tuberculosis.

Pheasants that are reared under natural conditions are
unquestionably much less likely to develop the disease than
birds reared under artificial conditions. When Pheasants
have been interbred they become physically defective, and
this favours the development of tuberculosis or consumption.
It is customary to regard this malady as hereditary ; therefore
infected stock birds should be destroyed.

Tuberculosis is due to the presence of minute living
organisms, known as bacilli, circulating in the blood and
lymph streams, with a disposition to locate themselves in the
tissue or organs, such as lymphatic glands and the liver,
where their presence sets up minute new growths known as
tubercles, which in advanced cases may stud the whole
surface of the liver, penetrate into its substance, likewise
lead to the production of variable sized new growths in
connection with the mesentery glands, which are at times
of stone-like consistency.

The chief signs of tuberculosis are gradual emaciation.

The introduction of infected broody hens may be a source
of infection, therefore every game-rearer should make it his
duty to select fowls kept on grass runs, and where the birds
are likely to be free from the trouble under consideration.
Tuberculosis is certainly much less frequently encountered
in Pheasants than in domestic fowls, the reason for this
being — in the writer's opinion — attributable to the different
conditions of existence and other reasons of secondary
importance.

253

CHAPTER XXXIV

Parasitic Affections of the Respiratory Tract

Syngamosis, Venmnoits Bronchitis, or Gapes

The Pheasant-rearer and the pouhry-man are both well
acquainted with that trouble popularly known under the title
Gapes, a name derived from the most striking symptoms the
birds display, namely, a gaping or gasping for breath. During
certain seasons, enormous losses are produced through this
trouble, and it certainly constitutes, in particular localities
at any rate, one of the worst scourges that the game-rearer
has to contend with. Birds are not the only sufferers from
these worms, there being corresponding parasites in calves,
sheep, and pigs, but particularly the two first named, in
which the trouble arising from the presence of the worms
in the air tubes is known as "Husk "or " Hoose." To
the game-rearer and to the poultry-man this fact is of some
significance, chiefly because considerable doubt has been
entertained as to whether there is not some relationship
existing between the different species causing the infestation.
Some poultry and game rearers believe that land which has
been grazed by cattle — mainly by calves and lambs — favours
the appearance of this trouble, a theory that is worthy of
consideration. In both instances the parasites have a pre-
dilection for attacking the young, though autumn appears
to be the season when "Husk" is most prevalent in farm-
stock. The flockmaster dreads this trouble just as much as

2S4

PARASITIC AFFECTIONS

the game-rearer, and he has one advantage over the latter,
namely, that of being able to apply remedial agents, and
adopt measures for the suppression of this undesirable affec-
tion, which would be quite inapplicable to either the game-
rearer or poultry-man. There is no doubt that this parasitic
trouble is more prevalent in some localities than others. A
moist atmosphere combined with a moderate degree of
warmth must be looked upon as favourable to the multiplica-
tion of these worms. It is a singular fact, nevertheless a
true one, that the earliest intimation of the trouble in young
Pheasants is usually the most readily detected when all is
quiet after the coops have been closed for the night. The
observant Pheasant-rearer usually listens for such early
intimation, the time for the detection of which may be the
means of averting serious losses, to say nothing of the
inconvenience arising in other ways. The young birds
emit a sneezing sound or modified form of cough. It is a
very difficult matter to trace the starting-point of a parasitical
disease of this nature, especially when one comes to con-
sider that other species of birds, such as the magpie, the
hooded crow, the partridge, the green woodpecker, the
turkey, the peacock, the common fowl, the martin, and last
but not least, so far as a medium of infection is concerned,
the sparrow, are all prone to it. In all probability other birds
are liable to the same complaint, therefore no great surprise
need be expressed when the disease appears, considering
that the facilities for the transmission of the gape-worm are
so varied. Although adult birds are not free from infesta-
tion, the percentage that becomes affected in this manner is
exceedingly small.

History of the Affection. — It is said that Wiesenthal in
1799 first observed this disease at Baltimore amongst poultry,
and that, in 1806 and two subsequent years, Montagu noticed

255

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

its existence in England as an epizootic amongst Pheasants,
partridges, and poultry, so that, in all probability, the trouble
originally came from the United States. It has been noticed
in Germany, France, and Italy, but apparently not until after
the discovery of the disease in England. The importation
of turkeys from America, of which these birds are natives,
may have had something to do with its appearance in
England.

The genus to which the parasite belongs is technically
known as Syngamus, and the worm itself as Synganius
trachealis. Worms belonging to the genus have a large
mouth and a thick head, the males being smaller
than the females, the former measuring about ^th inch,
and the latter §th inch. These small worms are
round, of a reddish colour, the ovary being double in
the female. The eggs of the parasites measure ^^th
inch, and the ova may contain fully formed embryos,
which are liberated from the body of the female after the
latter has been coughed up by the bird. It is stated that
it takes from one to nearly six weeks for the eggs to hatch,
provided that the conditions are favourable. Ehlers has
shown that an intermediate host is not necessary in order
for the embryos to develop into the adult worms. Birds
which have been compelled to ingest the ova containing
embryos have been found after seventeen days to contain
female parasites filled with eggs. The channel or path-
way through which the parasites gain entrance into the
windpipe has never been satisfactorily demonstrated, but
it is very probable that when swallowed they attach them-
selves to the back part of the throat and subsequently
wander into the air tube, gradually descending towards the
main branches of the bronchial tubes.

Symptoms. — These are very characteristic, but to anyone

256

PARASITIC AFFECTIONS

unacquainted with this trouble such might be mistaken for a
disease known as Roup, but the differential diagnosis becomes
comparatively easy when one comes to consider the absence
of a catarrhal discharge from the nasal openings, etc., so
diagnostic of the trouble last named. A very characteristic
sign is the constant opening of the beak, the young bird
evidently feeling as though it were going to be suffocated,
which, in some cases, does actually occur. Megnin has esti-
mated that two or three couples is sufficient to kill a Pheasant
at a month or six weeks old, whereas it will require twenty
or thirty to produce suffocation in an adult bird. In addi-
tion to the difficulty e.xperienced in breathing, the bird is
dull, has its feathers erect, mopes about, and takes little
or no food. Some very extraordinary epizootics have been
brought about through the invasion of pheasantries by
these worms, and those who rear a large head of game
are only too well aware of this fact.

The red or forked worm invades any part of the wind-
pipe, but seems to be particularly fond of taking up its
abode just where the air tube divides into the right and
left bronchi, in which situation the parasites are sometimes
found enveloped in a frothy mucous. They are attached
to the windpipe by the mouth, and the point of attachment
sometimes forms into a small tumour filled with matter.
Although a very minute abscess, the latter acts as a
mechanical impediment to the breathing, and may be
sufficient to produce suffocation. When young Pheasants
are dying it is always expedient to dissect out the whole
course of the trachea, and hold it up to the light, when
the worm, if present, will be seen shining through the
cartilage of the tube.

The Treahnent. — As previously stated, the early detection
of the trouble constitutes one of the most valuable methods

R 257

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

of controlling the spread of this complaint, so that isolation
can be carried out. It is no use to begin to isolate young
Pheasants when the trouble is running north, south, east,
and west of the coops. If the game-rearer keeps his eyes
and his ears open he ought to have the disease in check
ere it has had time to spread, but negligence coupled with
ignorance will soon disseminate the trouble amongst the
whole of the young birds, and such dissemination will very
likely be followed by that of a closely allied word, decima-
tion, or something still worse. The most economical plan, if
only a few birds are affected, is to destroy them and burn
their bodies. Coops should then be thoroughly disinfected
and changed to high and dry ground. It is a very good
plan when this affection makes its appearance to shift the
whole of the coops to fresh ground, and to thoroughly
disinfect all the feeding-vessels and water-troughs. The
author strongly believes that by the timely adoption of
precautionary measures this troublesome scourge can be
curtailed at its outset. It is customary amongst Pheasant-
rearers to resort to the use of various volatile substances,
either as a direct application to the windpipe or for the
purpose of fumigation. Oil of eucalyptus, terebene, spirits
of camphor, asafoetida, garlic, turpentine, menthol, paraffin,
and a variety of other substances are employed. Sulphurous
acid gas is occasionally used to fumigate the affected birds,
but it requires very great care, otherwise the young birds
will be suffocated. Iodine vapour is a tolerably good
remedy, and can be used in the following way : — First of all
place the birds in a small air-tight shed, and then take a
spirit lamp over which a shallow tin saucer is placed. On
this deposit half an ounce of iodine crystals and apply a
light to the lamp, so adjusting the saucer that steady
fumes of iodine vapour will gradually permeate the air in

258

PARASITIC AFFECTIONS

the shed, allowing this to go on almost to the point of
suffocation but not beyond. Another good remedy is oil
of eucalyptus one part, olive oil four parts, paraffin half a
part. Mix together, then dip a feather into the liniment
and apply it down the throat, say every day, until three
applications have been made. Tobacco smoke blown into
the coop through the stem of a pipe till the birds are
nearly suffocated is spoken of as a favourable remedy.
The small fumigating stoves sold by the chemist make
admirable appliances for fumigating young Pheasants, and
the fluid, as per following prescription, will be found suit-
able for using with the stoves : —

Oil of Eucalyptus . . . . i oz.

Terebene . . . . . i oz.

Creolin . . . . . . i oz.

Carbolic Acid . . . . . | oz.

Mix and pour one or two tablespoonfuls into the tray
over the lamp, then place the birds in an air-tight com-
partment and allow the fumes sufficient time to penetrate
well into the lungs, which will probably be an hour or
more, depending upon the size of the place in which the
birds are confined.

259

CHAPTER XXXV

Mycosis of the Respiratory Tract

Vegetable moulds, or certain species of fungi, are liable
to produce in Pheasants a diseased condition of some
portion of the respiratory tract, which also affects fowls,
pigeons, ducks, geese, swans, plovers, parrots, owls, bull-
finches, jays, and various other birds, to which the term
Aspergillosis is applied owing to the mould producing this
disease belonging to the genus Aspergillus, of which four
species have been recognised, both in their parasitic state,
and also as living upon decaying organic matter. Mycosis
of the air-passages was first of all observed in Pheasants
by Robin in 1848, and by Rivolta in 1887, but the first
recorded case is that of Meyer and Emert observed as
far back as 181 5. Heat, moisture, and darkness are dis-
tinctly favourable to the growth of the mould, which is
extremely common in musty litter, and on mouldy grain,
soil, etc. Not uncommonly this trouble is spoken of as
"canker," an ambiguous term that may cover multitudinous
ailments, provided that the signs of the disease are local-
ised. The mucous membrane of the air-passages, providing
as it does both warmth and moisture, seems to constitute
a favourable medium for the growth of the spores, which
in all probability are inhaled. The symptoms indicative
of this trouble are difficult breathing ; the sick birds mope
about with eyelids half-closed, and yellow bunches of cheesy
material congregate about the mouth — in fact, the mouth is
sometimes completely filled with this yellow material, so that

260

MYCOSIS OF THE RESPIRATORY TRACT

the birds are unable to close their mouths. It is an exudate
composed of fibrine and the result of inflammatory action.
In the superficial layers of the deposit the fungus and its
spores can be found upon the presence of which the
diagnosis of the disease depends. The best plan for de-
tecting the mould is to lightly scrape the surface of the
cheesy-like growth, mount it in a drop of glycerine con-
tained on a slide, and then examine with a low power of
the microscope. The windpipe, bronchi, and lungs are
usually invaded by this fungus. When in the lungs these
organs have caseous or cheesy -like nodules in them.
Mycosis of the air-passages is generally a very fatal disease,
more especially when the birds are kept in damp places.
The best treatment is, unquestionably, prevention, which
comprises an absolute regard for cleanliness, and the strict
avoidance of feeding upon damaged grain or such that has
become mouldy. Game-rearers should take particular care
to have their foods kept in dry places, as nothing can be
more pernicious than feeding birds on damaged fodder.
Individual treatment of affected birds comprises the removal
of the growth, and the subsequent application of tincture
of steel to the part by means of a camel-hair brush. When
used all appliances should be washed with hot water and
some disinfectant.

261

CHAPTER XXXVI

The Digestive Organs and Ailments in connection

therewith

The digestive organs of the Pheasant are similar in most
respects to those of other birds, there being no teeth, the
beak acting as an organ of prehension — in other words,
for picking up the food. As the food cannot be broken
up in the mouth, it is necessary for the bird to have a
receptacle into which the food can pass, and such provision
is made in the form of a pouch or dilation at the lower
end of the gullet, which thus acts as a store-house and
hopper for the food. Immediately below the crop the
gullet passes into the so-called chemical stomach or Proven -
TRicuLus, an organ that is richly supplied with gastric and
peptic glands, imbedded in the mucous membrane. These
glands secrete true digestive fluids, and pour them into the
second compartment of the stomach, which is the gizzard,
into which the true digestive stomach {proventriciilus)
directly opens. The gizzard is lined with tough, cuticular
membrane, and has very thick muscular walls, whilst its
form is that of an ovoid body, slightly flattened from side
to side. With the aid of grit it is able to exercise a
grinding action, so that its contents are very often of a
dry nature, but whole grain, beans, etc., are commonly
found in this organ. The necessity for a liberal supply of
grit thus becomes obvious, and if Pheasants are unable to
obtain such they will never thrive, grit being as essential
for their welfare as food. The small intestine follows

262

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND AILMENTS

the gizzard, and into it the ducts from the liver and
the small pancreas pour their secretion, which comprises
the bile and the pancreatic juice. There is a gall bladder
which serves as a reservoir for the storage of the bile.
The small intestine is long, and succeeded by the large
bowl which, in its turn, ends in the cloaca. Considered
as a whole, the digestive system of birds is similar to
that found in animals, modified to meet the requirements of
the individual. The crop may be said to correspond to
the rumen or paunch of Ruminants ; the gizzard to the
Omasum or third compartment ; and the provcntrictilus
or chemical stomach of the bird as corresponding to the
abomasum or true digestive stomach of cattle.

Diseases of the Digestive Apparatus

Impaction of the Crop

This trouble, though of common occurrence in poultry,
is occasionally observed in Pheasants, the result of feeding too
long upon dry food ; especially food too stringent in its nature,
or in excess, the last-named being rather a frequent cause
of the malady. It is an abnormal condition which is easily
recognised, the over-filled crop failing to reduce itself. In
order to deal with it the best plan is to give the bird a
teaspoonful or two of warm glycerine, and knead the crop
freely with the hands.

Infectious Enteric

Truly this may be said to be the game-rearer's scourge,
and one that is unfortunately very prevalent in some

263

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

localities, especially if the same rearing - ground is used
season after season, enteric being a trouble that seems to
taint the ground for an almost indefinite period, its appear-
ance upon certain estates being followed by its reappearance
during succeeding years, until the disease seems to finally
exhaust itself. Some game-rearers are much more fortunate
than others as regards this malady. The author now refers
to those to whom it is unknown.

Infectious enteric is most prevalent in damp situations.
If the rearing season happens to be accompanied by a good
deal of wet weather the chances are that this disastrous
ailment will make its appearance, but that it can do so
without the existence of infection, direct or indirect, animate
or inanimate, would be to accept a doctrine as erroneous in
theory and practice as one could possibly conceive. There
is every reason for believing that this malady arises
through the presence of micro-organisms or germs gaining
an entrance to the digestive tract, either through the food,
drinking water, feeding off infected ground, or some other
agency that has been previously infected with the organisms
of this disease. It is quite a tenable theory that birds,
various rodents, as well as the hands and clothing of man,
also the various appliances of the pheasantry, such as coops,
water-troughs, and feeding-vessels, may all of them act as
carriers of the contagion.

The domestic fowl is very often the medium for the
introduction of this deadly malady into the game-rearer's
establishment, therefore it is impossible to be too careful in
the selection of broody hens — in fact, every game-rearer
ought to insist on a clean bill of health from the
purchaser.

Pheasants from a few hours after being hatched up to
adult birds are liable to enteric, but it is particularly liable

264

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND AILMENTS

to affect them when about six weeks old, and the malady
is so virulent that they die with apoplectic suddenness, not
singly, but numbers are picked up in the daily rounds in
a dead and dying condition. Where extensive Pheasant-
rearing operations are carried on several thousands of the
poults may be cleared off through this cholera - like
affection.

Infectious enteric, the prefix being used in order to
distinguish the malady from enteritis arising from other
causes of a non-infective nature, presents certain classical
features which at once render it distinctive, and these may
be summarised as follows : —

(a) Suddenness of attack.

(d) That a number of birds are simultaneously
affected.

(d) The rapid manner in which the malady spreads

from the diseased to the healthy.

(<?) Diarrhoea or scour so constantly accompanying
this trouble and materially aiding in its dis-
semination on the rearing-field.

(/) The liability towards a recurrence of the affection
in succeeding years, when birds are reared
upon the same ground. Both living and
dead chicks appear to be capable of acting
as sources of infection, hence the necessity
for either deep burial or else destruction by
fire of the dead birds.

Any careless disposal of the latter is very liable to be
followed by perpetuation of this malady, a fact which it is
impossible to insist too strongly upon. It is negligence in

265

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

relation to this and other apparently trifling details that so
commonly leads to the rapid spread of enteric and yet the
rearer remain quite at sea as to the increase of the trouble
amongst his birds. The best plan is to look upon the
malady as one that can be transmitted through all agencies,
living or dead, that may have been brought into touch with
the germ of the disease.

The author does not believe that infectious enteric is
capable of aerial transmission, in other words that the
virus or poison is of a '"volatile" nature, but rather of
an opposite nature, viz., ''fixed" necessitating transference
through channels other than atmospherical.

Klein appears to have been the first scientific investigator
in connection with this complaint, the disease appearing in
a poultry yard at Orpington (Kent) during the year 1888.
The earliest indications of the approach of this trouble are
those afforded by the general appearance of the birds, such
as moping about, separation from the other birds, drooping
of the wings, followed by severe diarrhoea. In the less
acute cases scouring is a constant feature of this malady,
which, as previously stated, materially influences the dis-
semination of the trouble. Drowsiness is usually very
marked. This, along with wandering from the coops,
scouring, and evidence of internal pain, plus its infectious
nature, must be accepted as the best (though not positive)
evidence one can have of this affection. The after-death
appearances — as revealed by the naked eye — are liable to
variability, and greatly depend, in the author's opinion,
upon the duration of the complaint being proportionate
to its severity or otherwise. Sometimes there is distinct
evidence of pneumonia either in one or both lungs, but
the most significant changes are in connection with the
gall bladder, the liver, and the intestines. The first-named

266

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND AILMENTS

is nearly always distended with a blackish-coloured bile,
so much so that the surrounding tissues are generally
deeply stained, especially the under surface of the liver
and the commencement of the intestine ; but the staining
may extend into the flesh and cellular tissue. The dis-
coloration of the liver — particularly at the borders — is
commonly observed post-mortem, the colour assumed being
that of buff. The bowel shows evidence of acute inflam-
mation particularly at the beginning of the small intestine,
and this may involve the whole of the coating of the
intestines or the mucous membrane alone may be mainly
implicated. The last-named is frequently stained by the
offensive contents of the bowel.

Measures to be Adopted when an Outbreak of
Infectious Enteric is Suspected

Although enteric is a disease particularly prone to attack
chicks, it is not confined to such, though the mortality mainly
occurs between the ages of three and six weeks. The
slightest illness amongst chicks in a coop should receive
sufficient recognition to warrant the immediate isolation of
birds in that coop from the rest of the stock. The ground
where the coop has been should be freely sprinkled with
slaked lime or gas lime or other matter of an allied nature.
When the chicks are carried off suddenly with the symptoms
already indicated enteric should be suspected, and perhaps
the most economical way is to destroy all the birds in the
coop, also the coop itself. It must be borne in mind that
fowls and other gallinaceous birds are liable to be the
victims of infectious enteric and may be the source of the
introduction of the disease. Two factors stand pre-

267

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

eminent as prophylactics of this Pheasant cholera, and
these are : —

First. — Avoid overcrowding on the rearing-ground.

Secondly. — Not to rear on the same ground in successive
seasons.

Thirdly. — Never rear birds on ground where there have
been previous losses— in other words, on infected
land.

Fourthly. — Avoid purchasing eggs or broody hens from
poultry-men and game farms which have had losses
from enteric, such being unquestionably a fertile
source of perpetuating the malady.

/vy?/;/)'.— Whenever possible, select as a site for the
rearing-field an upland pasture, where the drainage
is natural, the sub-soil dry. The coops must be
well sheltered yet freely exposed to as much sunlight
as possible.

Sixthly.- — Keep all feeding utensils and drinking troughs
scrupulously clean, scalding them out daily. A free
supply of pure water is indispensable. The author
strongly advocates, where a large number of birds
have to be reared, that the coops should be placed
as wide apart from each other as can be conveni-
ently done — in fact, the wider apart the better.
Always avoid placing the coops on land that is
badly drained or e.xposed to the north or north-
east winds. Dryness, warmth, cleanliness, and a
liberal supply of pure water, combined with regu-
larity of feeding, along with the selection of
suitable food and sound stock birds, are mainly
contributory towards the prevention of this Phea-
sant scourge, though not preventive. Infectious
268

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND AILMENTS

enteric is liable to occur under the best of con-
ditions, all that is necessary towards its produc-
tion being an infected bird or some other agent
capable of carrying the virus of the disease. With
reference to remedial agents, there are none, and
any specifics advertised for such purposes may be
regarded as of no practical value. The periodical
lime-whitening of the coops along with the dis-
infection of the same must, as a matter of course,
be duly observed, but it is more economical to
destroy infected coops than to retain them, as it
is quite possible they may, in spite of disinfection,
act as media for keeping the trouble alive.

Liver Disease

Reference has already been made to disease of the liver
when speaking of tuberculosis, in which disease this organ
is frequently implicated. More especially do such remarks
apply when Pheasants have been reared in aviaries, and
kept there for a considerable period. Congestion of the liver
is liable to arise when the food has been of a too stimulat-
ing nature or unsuitable in other respects. Many young
Pheasants die from this trouble, caused in the manner
indicated, but a large percentage of deaths are likewise
attributable to a similar condition of this organ, only in
association with a much more troublesome malady, namely,
infectious enteric. Needless to say, the liver constitutes a
very important part of the digestive system, it being in this
organ that the starchy constituents of the food are stored up
as reserved material to be subsequently used up according
to the requirements of the economy. The liver is composed

269

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

of numerous minute cells, and has a rich blood supply, so
that it is an important matter for this organ to be kept in
proper working order ; otherwise derangement of other parts
is bound to occur. The term "rupture of the liver" is
applied when one of the blood-vessels, no matter how small,
supplying this organ is ruptured, an injury which, as a rule,
speedily proves fatal.

J nflavintation of the Bowels i^Enteriiis),
also Coccidiosis

Infectious enteritis has already been referred to, but
inflammation of the bowels may and does occur in
Pheasants quite apart from specific causes, and when it
does so, it usually results from some form of irritant,
such as unsuitable food, the ingestion of poisonous plants,
mineral irritants, the presence of worms, coccidia, etc. etc.
Either the large, small, or whole length of the intestine may
be implicated in the diseased process, whilst the degree of
inflammatory action varies in accordance with the potency
of the irritant and the condition of the digestive tract at
the time of the ingestion of the irritant. For instance, in
some cases the mucous lining of the bowel only is affected,
whereas in other instances there is intense redness through-
out the whole thickness of the wall of the gut. Young birds
are particularly liable to intestinal irritation, and the slightest
aggravation may lead to inflammatory action, which, in every
instance, so far as the author is aware, proves fatal. There
is no method of distinguishing infectious from non-infectious
enteric, excepting the evidence afforded by the numerous
deaths, together with the rapidity of the same, arising
through the disease first-named, along with the post-mortem

270

THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND AILMENTS

appearances, though the latter are not by any means
" always " confirmatory. When speaking of the causes of
inflammation of the bowels, no mention has been made of
the disease coccidiosis, which is an affection occasionally
observed in young Pheasants, producing an epizootic, and
sometimes atacking fowls and turkeys about two or three
months old, in which it is a very fatal malady. The
coccidia are found in the glands of the intestine, and their
presence destroys the epithelial cells of the glands. The
leading symptom of this disease is diarrhoea, therefore the
rearing-ground soon becomes a medium of infection. The
moral of this is to change the birds to fresh ground. No
other treatment beyond that of prevention in the manner
indicated, combined with thorough disinfection of all the
coops and appliances, is likely to be of any service, when
dealing with a trouble of this kind.

IVorms

Pheasants, like all other animals and birds, are liable to

harbour in the digestive tract various species of worms,

some being flat, others round. The tajniadae or tape-worms

are occasionally very numerous in the intestines of the

Pheasant, and capable of setting up, by their presence, acute

inflammation of the bowels, particularly in young birds.

Sometimes the bowels will be almost completely blocked

up with masses of tape-worm, which, needless to say, soon

lead to a fatal issue, although there are no symptoms during

life that will enable one to suspect the existence of a

parasitic trouble of this nature. Until verified by a

post-mortem, one can easily conceive an affection of this

kind being confounded with enteric arising from other

271

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

causes. Various remedial agents have been suggested for
the treatment of worms in Pheasants, but a practical man
will not attach much importance to the use of drugs in
cases of this nature, it being much more important to limit
the power of infestation, which can be done by the destruc-
tion of the affected birds and also by changing the young
stock to fresh, well-drained, close cut, old pasturage, where
plenty of insect life prevails, but not where cattle or sheep
are grazed, nor yet to land over-run by vermin, etc.

272

CHAPTER XXXVII

Cramp

Unfortunately for Pheasants, cramp is a rather common
disease, but it must not be confused with that spasmodic con-
traction of the muscles bearing the same name in the human
subject. Nearly all game-rearers and poultry-men are
acquainted with this complaint, which is specially prone to
attack young birds, it may be only a few days old. It is
generally during the second or third week that most birds are
affected. In some localities cramp is particularly prevalent,
and seems to be associated with the soil. A wet soil, no
matter whether such moisture is beyond the surface, or in the
sub-soil, will, especially if east winds are prevailing, be almost
certain to be followed by cramp in some of the broods.
Sudden changes of temperature are, without doubt, " exciting "
causes of cramp. Klein regards the disease as being due to
the presence of micro-organisms circulating in the blood, and
if this theory is correct, it follows that the trouble is of an
infective nature, although the author is not aware that any
positive evidence has been adduced to support this statement.
If due to infection of the system by germs, it does in certain
features resemble a malady affecting foals, known as "Joint-
ill," and like the latter complaint, it makes its appearance
quite suddenly. It is denoted by a lameness in one leg, the
bird being stiff in the limb, and dragging its leg along the
ground. The opposite leg soon becomes affected in the same
manner, and the young birds usually die from exhaustion on
the third or fourth day. The first or second thigh bones are
s 273

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

the parts mainly implicated, and a peculiar feature is the
tendency towards fracture of the bones at their extremities,
which not uncommonly occurs in advanced stages of the
disease. Both the bone-skin "periosteum," and the interior
of the bone, show evidence of pathological change, which is
revealed by microscopic examination. If cramp is due to the
entrance of micro-organisms into the system, one would
naturally expect that all the young birds in the same coop as an
infected one would suffer in a similar manner ; but this is
not the case as a rule, as cohabitation of the diseased with
the healthy commonly give negative results, yet many game-
rearers certainly look upon cramp as an infectious malady.
Whenever this trouble makes its appearance, the game-rearer
should remove his coops to high and dry ground, as this con-
stitutes the most practical method of handling or rather
dealing with a complaint of this kind. Treatment individu-
ally is of very little use — in fact, it is better to destroy the
affected birds, as this will prove the most economical in the
long run.

Gamekeepers have not always an opportunity for changing
their birds to fresh rearing ground, therefore some alternative
method must be adopted in cases where cramp makes its ap-
pearance amongst the young birds. Some agent, capable of
absorbing the excessive moisture in the ground, is indicated.
Moss-litter will prove the best. A few bales of German
peat moss-litter should be procured, well broken up, and the
coops placed on this, as the absorbent and antiseptic pro-
perties of the moss-litter render it specially suitable for such
purposes.

274

CHAPTER XXXVIII

Disease affecting the Eyes

Pheasants, like other birds and animals, are, unfortunately,
occasionally troubled with eye affections, and the worst feature
about such is that the trouble is not, as a rule, confined to one
or two birds, but usually affects a considerable number, as
most game-rearers are aware. The most frequent eye trouble
in Pheasants is that known as

Ophthalmia

This is a most troublesome affection, but not one that is
confined to game ; therefore, the media of transference is
much greater than in the case of a disease specially prone to
attack some particular variety of animal or bird. Young
Pheasants are most liable to suffer, and hot weather is said to
be favourable to the production of the complaint. The eye-
lids become inflamed and adhere together through the sticky
secretion that is poured out. First one eye is attacked and
then the other ; the cornea becomes opaque ; the eyeball
shrinks ; the whole organ becoming more or less disorganised.
Doubtless this is a specific form of ophthalmia, the one that
is communicable to other Pheasants. The main principles in
the treatment of this affection are based upon the immediate
isolation of the diseased birds, each of which, if considered
worth the trouble, must be treated separately. The eyes
first of all ought to be washed with a weak solution of boracic

275

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AV^IARY

acid (20 grains of powdered boracic acid to an ounce of
tepid water), and the eyelids then smeared with the following
ointment : —

Yellow Oxide of Mercury Ointment . i drachm

Boracic Acid Ointment . . .1 ounce

Mix and apply to eyelids night and morning.
In addition to this treatment the following pills will be
found very efficacious : —

Powdered Sulphate of Iron . . . 12 grains

Powdered Sulphate of Copper . . 12 grains

Sulphate of Quinine ... 6 grains

Extract of Gentian .... 12 grains

Mix and divide into forty-eight pills, one of which must
be given night and morning to each bird suffering from
ophthalmia.

Regarding the malady as an infectious one, the Pheasant-
rearer must exercise good care in the matter of handling
healthy birds, before doing which the hands, etc., should be
thoroughly disinfected, otherwise one may unwittingly act as
a medium of infection. As hens are liable to this malady,
it is neces.sary to be careful when introducing these for broody
purposes to see that they are not suffering from this complaint,
otherwise such will form the starting-point of the trouble.

276

CHAPTER XXXIX

Parasitic Affections in Connection with the Skin

Pheasants, like other gallinaceous birds, are liable to be
infested with various kinds of acari and pediculi, some of
which are almost constantly present on them, though birds
that are infested in this manner certainly never thrive as
well as those without them. The existence of pediculi or
lice may be accepted as evidence, more especially in young
birds reared under artificial conditions, that the coops have
been the source of infection, or else the broody hen, or a
combination of the two. The introduction of lice through
the domestic fowl amongst the young birds is by far the
commonest medium of infection, and game-rearers should
take particular precaution to guard against the advent of
such unpropitious circumstances. One of the commonest
parasites infest the legs of Pheasants and also of fowls,
producing scabies of the legs, or what is more popularly
known as

Scaly-leg

A disease that attacks the legs, though most authorities are
of the opinion that it is confined to these parts only. As
poultry are commonly affected, it may be readily introduced
amongst Pheasants during the rearing season, therefore
every game-rearer should endeavour to see that all the fowls
he purchases are free from this trouble. Most gamekeepers

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

are acquainted with it, and readily recognise its existence,
as it is denoted by the appearance of scaly-like elevations
on the legs and toes. This disease is due to the presence
of minute parasites or acari, which live under the epidermic
scales of the legs, setting up in this situation a considerable
degree of irritation. The acari alluded to are known as
the sarcoptes mutans, which are very small parasites with
round bodies, the female parasite being larger than that of
the male, the limbs being destitute of suckers and terminat-
ing in two booklets. Scaly-leg is mostly confined to the
front surface, and the elevation of the epidermic scales is
due to the presence of a white powdery substance beneath
them, the result of the irritation. The scales ultimately
become detached, but are replaced by others as they are
cast off. On the under surface of the scales or crusts there
is a honeycomb appearance, and it is in these depressions
that the female parasites are lodged, and in them the eggs
are laid. In advanced cases of this trouble the birds are
liable to become lame, and in consequence suffer constitu-
tionally. Being a parasitic affection, it follows that it is
communicable from one bird to another, either by direct or
indirect contact, whilst breed appears to have an influence
in determining its appearance. It is certainly not readily
transmitted, as healthy fowls or Pheasants may cohabit
where the disease is for a long time without contracting the
malady.

Trcat7ncnt and JManageinetit. — Both game-rearers and
gamekeepers likewise, though they are interested themselves
in the study of this disease, have experimented with numerous
applications for the cure of this trouble, and various results
have been recorded. It is not a difficult disease to treat if
attacked in a proper manner, and the best method of doing
so is first of all to wash the leg-s and feet with a stronsf

278

PARASITIC AFFECTIONS

solution of ordinary washing-soda, or better still, immerse
them in this, say for a quarter of an hour. Their legs and
feet may then be dressed with the following ointment : —

Sublimed Sulphur .

Bicarbonate of Potash

Paraffin Oil

Creosote .

Red Oxide of Mercury

Balsam of Peru

Lard to make the whole

isih

1 oz.

2 drachms
2 drachms

1 drachm

2 drachms
jt oz.

4 ozs.

Rub this ointment well in night and morning;.

Another simple and very efficacious remedy is paraffin
oil applied to the legs in an undiluted condition, and repeated
until a complete cure has been effected ; but it is always
advantageous to wash the legs with the soda solution,
previously recommended, before the application of any re-
medial agent. Another matter of importance is that of
thoroughly disinfecting all appliances that have been in
contact with the legs and feet. Scaly-leg is a very simple
disease to recognise, but positive diagnosis is necessarily
based upon the presence of the acari, which can be detected
by removal of the scales or crust and by examining their
under surfaces with a low power of the microscope, it being
sufficient to take a scraping from the affected part, or from
the scale, then mount it on a slide with a drop of glycerine
and examine it as directed.

Scabies of the Body

This affection, also known as Depluming Scabies, occurs
in fowls, and it is possible that the same affection might be
transmitted to Pheasants through the introduction of an
infected fowl. It is due to the presence of parasites or acari,

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PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

known as sarcoptes laevis, which exist at the base of the
feathers, causing the feathers to be shed or break off at
the surface of the epidermis ; the head and the upper part
of the neck are commonly affected, but the thighs, back,
etc., as well as neighbouring parts, readily become implicated,
whilst the trouble seldom affects the wings and the tail. One
bird will soon affect others, unless preventive measures
are adopted. It is sometimes mistaken for early or late
moulting in birds, but its infective nature serves to distin-
guish it from the normal process. The best treatment is
to arrest the affected parts with a liniment as per pre-
scription below : —

Flowers of Sulphur . . . 2 oz.

Linseed Oil . . ■ • 2 P'"*

Mix and apply daily.

280

CHAPTER XL

Vegetable and Mineral Poisons

Introductory. — Innumerable instances of accidental poison-
ing in Pheasants have been brought to the writer's notice,
likewise such cases have been recorded by other observers,
some of which are of an extremely interesting nature. A
noteworthy feature in connection with the ingestion of
poisonous substances by Pheasants is the reason why these
birds should partake of such at one time, and yet refuse it
at another, in spite of the fact that they have been liberally
fed on both occasions. It is reasonable to assume that the
discriminative power of Pheasants, as regards their selection
and rejection of esculent herbage, is allied to that of other
birds, but why they should resort to feeding upon toxico-
logical plants is a matter too speculative to decide upon.
To feed upon poisonous grain is a totally different matter,
as the toxic material is hidden from view. The malicious
destruction of Pheasants by poisonous substances is certainly
of uncommon occurrence, most instances of poisoning in
these birds being due to accidental circumstances. In some
localities a very dangerous practice prevails, namely, that
of scattering poisoned grain for the destruction of rooks
and other pests of the farmer, whilst the gamekeeper is
not altogether free from this pernicious practice. The grain
(maize, oats, etc.) is usually soaked in either a solution of
strychnine, or else arsenic, and then scattered about.
When Pheasants are hungry they will stray a considerable

281

PHEASANTS IN COVEUT AND AVIARY

distance in search of food, and one can easily conceive cases
of accidental poisoning occurring in this manner. There is
recorded in Tegetmeier's book on Pheasants, an instance of
lead poisoning, in which a score of Pheasants died from the
same symptoms, which were those analogous with lead poison-
ing in other animals, namely, paralysis of the legs and
emaciation, accompanied by drawing up of the feet, corre-
sponding to that of "Wrist-drop," observed in man. When
the birds were post-mortemed leaden pellets were discovered
in their gizzards which they had picked up in the coverts
after the latter had been shot through, a fact that it is well
to bear in mind when birds begin to die after heavy shooting
has been indulged in.

Yew Poisojitng

The Yew i^Taxiis Baccata) is a perennial ornamental
shrub frequently attaining tree-like dimensions, and often
forming, when closely cut, dense hedges, surrounding
parks and gardens. The leaves are extremely small,
dark green on their upper surface, but lighter below. In
comparison to their size, they are thick, being only little
more than half an inch in length. The young shoots are
readily distinguishable from the older ones, being of a light
green colour. Many cases of Yew poisoning have been
recorded amongst horses, cattle and sheep, and some in
Pheasants. The deadly nature of the Yew is well known
to all veterinary surgeons, and the remarkable manner in
which horses succumb after partaking of it, whilst cattle
and sheep sometimes consume it with impunity, has been
the subject of considerable discussion. But cattle and
sheep do not always consume it with harmless effects, as

282

VEGETABLE AND MINERAL POISONS

proved by the numerous deaths following its ingestion. Its
toxic effects, in some cases but not in others, thus becomes
a mystery. Two Pheasants were recently picked up dead
by the head-keeper in a garden adjacent to his master's
coverts, and they were forwarded to the writer to be post-
mortemed. In both birds the crops and gizzards contained
large quantities of Yew leaves, in addition to beans, whilst
throughout the whole length of the intestines there was
acute inflammation of the bowels, evidently of rapid origin,
obviously the outcome of the toxic material contained in
the Yew leaves. This occurred during the latter end of
September or the beginning of October, but the consumption
of the Yew had not been due to shortaoe of food, as the
birds were well-nourished and had plenty of facilities for
obtaining suitable food. Analogous instances of Yew poison-
ing are also recorded in Tegetmeier's book on Pheasants.
Therein reference is also made to some experiments con-
ducted at the Agricultural College at Downton, by Stuart
Wortley, as to the amount of poisonous principle contained
in the male and female plants, which, according to his
experiments, tends to show that the toxicological principle —
taxine — exists in the leaves of the male plant only. Feed-
ing experiments of a similar kind were conducted by Sir
John M'Fadyean at the Royal Veterinary College, Camden
Town, but the writer is not aware that any definite conclu-
sion was arrived at.

To plant Yew trees in the neighbourhood of coverts or
hedgerows must be condemned, as there are plenty of other
shrubs, less harmful, that will fulfil all the conditions of the
Yew. Pheasants, after partaking of this plant, die with
almost apoplectic suddenness, but it is reasonable to assume
that when the crop is fairly well filled with other food
the deadly effects of the plant will be of a less acute nature.

283

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

One feature of particular interest in connection with the
ingestion of poisonous substances by Pheasants is the total
absence of inflammatory signs in any portion of the digestive
tract, excepting that of the intestines. In all probability
this is explicable on the ground of the actual absorption or
digestion of nutriment carried on in this portion of the
alimentary canal. All the juices are extracted from the food
in the gizzard by the severe muscular contractions, assisted
by the grit, of this organ.

Ivy Poisoning

Cases of poisoning in Pheasants through the consumption
of Ivy berries have on several occasions been recorded ;
but why the birds should partake of this, as in the case of
the Yew tree leaves, is as yet a mystery unexplained. The
berries of Ivy act as a gastro-intestinal irritant, provoking
acute inflammation of the bowels, and a speedy death. The
only positive evidence as to death having been thus caused
is that afforded by the discovery of the Ivy berries in the
crop, or else in the gizzard, in conjunction with acute inflam-
mation of the bowels. In addition to this, there may be
evidence of the birds having a feed of the berries of the Ivy
in some adjacent garden, or the birds may have been picked
up dead close to the place where the Ivy is growing.
These and other facts have all to be considered by an
observant gamekeeper, in cases where he finds isolated
instances of death amongst his birds.

284

INDEX

Abies Excelsa, see Fir, Spruce

■ Pectinata, see Fir, Silver

Acorns, as food, 15 ; analysis, 168
"Acorns and Straying Pheasants," Gamc-

^«<j/'fr (quoted), 16
Adult birds, feeding, 215
Afghan Delimitation Commission, dis-
covery of Prince of Wales Pheasant, 41
Afghanistan, Prince of Wales Pheasant in,

40
Aitchison, Dr, on Prince of Wales

Pheasant, 42
Albania, Common Pheasant in, 31
Albinism, 24, 76

Albino Pheasant, 24 ; hybrids, 76
Amherst, Lady, Prince of Wales Pheasant

introduced by, go, 92
Amherst Pheasant, 90 et seq. ; hybrids,

88, 90
Appliances, disinfection of, 245 ; portable

(ill.), 15'
Argus Giganteiis, see Argus Pheasant,

Great

Grayi, see Argus Pheasant, Small

Argus Pheasant, 9S et seq. ; in Europe, 103 ;

hybrids, 100

, Great, 98, 100

, Small, 98 ; in British Museum, 106;

description, 105
Artificial Incubation, see Incubation,

Artificial
Asia Minor, origin of Pheasant, 22
Aviaries, disinfection, 245 ; (ilb)) 233 ;

management, 129
Badger, 210
Banford, Thomas, on Straying Pheasants,

222
Barberry, in coverts, 17
Barred-backed Pheasant, see Elliot's

(Barred-backed) Pheasant and Hume's

(Barred-backed) Pheasant
Bar-tailed Pheasant, see Reeves' Pheasant
Bartlett, A. D. , on Scemmerring's

Pheasant, 58
Beech, for chalk soil, 15 ; as roosting-

place, 14
Beech-mast, as food, 15
Beilby, George, on high-flying, 235
Birds Observed in the Ionian Islands

(quoted), 31
Birds of Asia (quoted), 45, 62, 91
Birds of Europe (quoted), 32
Birds of Northamptonshire (quoted), 22,

203
Black-necked Pheasant, scarcity, 22
Black's Hawk trap, 199
Blood Pheasant, no

Blood Pheasant, Geoffry's, no

, Northern, in

Bohemia, Common Pheasant in, 32

Bohemian Pheasant, 75

Bowels, Inflammation of, 270

Box, in coverts, 21

Bramble, in coverts, 17

Breeding, eftect of alien blood, 44

Briar, in coverts, 21

British Birds (quoted), 172

British Came Birds and Wild Fowl, on
coverts, 18 ; Pheasant described, 28 ;
on Ring-necked Pheasant, 23

Broods, see Chicks

Broody Hens, selection of, 150

Broom, in covens, 17

Buckwheat, in coverts, 220

Calophasis HumI/E, see Hume's (Barred-
backed) Pheasant

Campbell, Sir Archibald, Amherst Pheasant
introduced by, 90, 92

Canis Domestica, see Dog

Canker, misuse of word, 260

Carrion Crow, see Crow, Carrion

Cat, 211

Chalk soil, Beech trees on, 15

Chicks, feeding and management, 1 58 et
seq. ; removal to coverts, 1 82

China, Pheasant in, 49, 82, 92

Chinese Pheasant, 43 et seq. ; in aviary and
covert, 46 ; hybrids, 23 ; origin, 47 ;
relation to Ring-necked, 68

, Ringless, 78

, Ring-necked, introduction, 24; re-
lation to Common Pheasant, 23

Chlorine Gas, as disinfectant, 248

Circus Cineraeeous, see Hawk

Coccidiosif, 270

Colchis River, see Phasis River

Common Pheasnnt, 22 et seq.

Coops, 158

Copper Pheasant, see Soemmerring's
Pheasant

Corvus Comix, see Crow, Hooded

Corone, see Crow, Carrion

Friigiiegus, see Rook

Monedula, see Jackdaw

Coverts, adult birds in, 215 ; construction,
13; in Gloucestershire, 20; in Norfolk,
20; removing chicks to, 182; in Suffolk,
20 ; trees suitable for, 14, 17, 21

Cramp, 273

Creagh, E. F. , on Reeves' Pheasant, 52

Crop, impaction of, 263

Crossoptilon .Auritum, see Eared Pheasant

Mantchuriciim, see Eared Pheasant,

Manchurian

28s

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

CrossoptHon T itetanum, zee Eared Thea-
sant, While Tibet

Crow, Carrion, 201

, Hooded, 199

Cysticus, see Broom

David, Pkrk, on Golden Pheasant, S8

Uavidbon, WiUiam, on Argus Pheasant, 98,
100

Dawkins, W. Boyd, Pheasant in England,
date, 30

De inventione Santa Cruets notre en Jilonle
Acu/o et de ductione ejusdem apiid
Walthatn, early mention of Pheasant, 30

Deafness, albinism and, 77

Depluming Scabies, see Scabies

Digestive Organs, diseases, 262

Diseases, 251 et seq. {see also under names
of diseases)

Disinfectants, 245

Dixon, on pairing, 35

Dog, 211

Dog Rose, in coverts, 18

Drake, Rouen, male plumage assumed by
female, 114

Dresser, H.E. , on Common Pheasant, 32

Eared Pheasant, 108

, Manchurian, 108

, White Tibet, 108

Edward VII. exhibits Prince of Wales
Pheasant, 40

Eggs, belt for carrying, 125; colour, 36;
eating by Pheasant, 132,205; as food,
162, 171; late hatchmg, 155; incuba-
tion, artificial, 136, 141 ; labourers and,
126; pheasantry z'. wild, 116; stealing,
125 ; testing, 140 ; testing lamp (ill. ), 139

Elder, in coverts, 21

Elliot, on Argus Pheasant, 103 ; on Golden
Pheasant, 87 ; on hybrids, 29 ; on
Japanese Pheasant, 64 ; on Shaw's
Pheasant, 47

Elliot's (Barred-hacked) Pheasant, 80

Enemies and Pesis, 187 et sei/. {see also
under names. Fox, Hawk, etc.)

England, introduction of Pheasant, 30, 31

Enteric, Infectious, 263

Enteritis, 153, 270

Etolia, Common Pheasant abundant, 32

Euplocamus Nycthemerus, see Silver
Pheasant

Sivinhoii, see Silver Pheasant

Eye diseases, 275

Faous Svi.vatica, j« Beech

Fairweather, W. D. , on pheasantry v. wild
eggs, 117

Farming, game, 225

Feeding, see Food

J^elis Pomestica^ see Cat

Female, assumption of male plumage, 113

Field on Reeves' Pheasant, 52
Fir, Scotch, as roosiing-place, 14
Fir, Silver, as roosting-place, 14
Fir, Spruce, in coverts, 18
Flower Phea.sant, see Amherst Pheasant
Food, 158 et seq.; (or adult birds, 215;
analysis, 166; cereals, 166; for chicks,
158; curd, 163; eggs, 162; gentles,
166 ; greenstuff, 164, 168 ; insects,
170; list, 217 ; natural, 15 ; over-feeding,
176; troughs (ill.), 131; water, 16, 175
FornKjsa, I heasant in, 78
Korniosan Pheasant, 46, 78
" Foster-Mother Egg Belt," 125
Fowls, for sitting, 150
Fox, 2o5 ; gamekeepers' attitude, 1S2

OAMS BlRDX OF THE BRITISH ISLAXDS

(quoted). 35
Game-farming. 225

Gamekeeper (quoted), acorns and stray-
ing, 15: feeding chicks, 168; eggs,

:i7; high-Hying, 235; incubation, 141 ;

Jays, 195 ; pens, 133 ; Stoats, 212 ;

slraying, 15, 222
Gamekeepers, education, course suggested,

187 ; enemies of, 187
Gapes, 254 : fumigation for, 259 ; wet,

cau^e of, 166
Garrilus Glandarius, j« Jay
Geolfry's Blood Pheasant, see Blood

Pheasant, Geoffry's
Germany, Common Pheasant in, 32
Gloucestershire, oaks in coverts, 20
Golden Pheasant, 82 et seq. ; hybrids, 86,

SS, 90
Goldsmith, Golden Pheasant wrongly de-
scribed by, 82
Gorse, in coverts, 18
Gould, on Amherst Pheasant, 91 ; on

Chinese Pheasant, 45; on Japanese

Pheasant, 62
Grant, Ogilvie, on Prince of Wales Pheasant,

41 : on Sremmerring's Pheasant, 56
Great Argus Pheasant, see Argus Pheasant,

Great
Guelder Rose, in coverts, 21
Gurney, J. H., on Japanese and Common

Cross, 61
Hagenbeck, Carl, Pheasant named

after, 66
Hagenbeck's Pheasant, 66
HanJhook of Game Birds (quoted), 56
Handbook on British Game Birds (quoted),

41
Hawk, 19S; trap (ill.), 199
Hayes, Richard, on artificial incubation,

143
Hazel, in coverts, 17, 21
Hedgehog, 213

286

INDEX

Hens, Broody, selection, 150
High-flying, 234 ; gamekeepers' opinions,

23s
Hiiiory of the Earth and Animated

Nature, mistake re Golden Pheasant, 82
Hodgson, B. 11.. specimens of Amherst

Pheasant, 92
Holly, in coverts, 14
Hooded Crow, see Crow, Hooded
Horsfall, K. E., illustration of female

Pheasant, 1 14
Housing, see Appliances
Hume's (Barred-backed) Pheasant, 81
Hybrids, 68 et seq. ; Elliot on, 29 ; pied,

76 ; triple, 72 {see also under names of

Pheasants)
Ihis, Tub. change of plumage described

in, 114; Small Argus Pheasant described

in, 105
Jlex Aqiiifolium, see Holly
Incubation, Artificial, 136, 141
Incubators, suitable makes, 137
Indian Corn, as food, 31
Ionian Islands, Common Pheasant in, 31
Ithagenes, see Blood Pheasant

, Ctiientus, see Blood Pheasant

, Geoffroyi, see Blood Pheasant,

Geoff ry's
, Sinensis, see Blood Pheasant,

Northern
Ivy poisoning, 284
Jackdaw, 203

Japan, Soemmerring's Pheasant in, 55
Japanese Pheasant, 60 et seq. ; influence,

68 ; introduction, 62 ; Mongolian cross,

38, 72 ; hybrids, 37, 61

Jay, 194

Jones, Walter, records late hatching, 155
Kalagk Phkasant, see Silver Pheasant
Labourers, egg stealing by, 125, 126
Lane's Hawk trap, 199
Larch, conducive to poaching, 21 ; as

roosting-place, 14, 19
Laurel, in coverts, 17
Lead poisoning, shots cause, 282
Leadbeater, Benjamin, on Amherst

Pheasant, 91
Legg, George, on high-flying, 237
Lice, 152, 249
Lilford, Lord, on Black-necked Pheasant,

22 ; on Common Pheasant, 31 ; on

Crow, 200; on Jackdaw, 203
Linnseus, Golden Pheasant mentioned by, 82
Liver, diseases of, 269
Luro River, Common Pheasant observed, 31
Macgillivray, on Ring-necked Pheasant,

72
Magpie. 191
Male plumage, see Plumage

Mallard, female assuming male plumage,

114
Manchurian Eared Pheasant, see Eared

Pheasant, Manchurian
Medhurst, introduction of Reeves' Phea-
sant by, 49
Ateliis Tax us, see Badger
Mice, 212

Mongolia, Hagenbeck's Pheasant in, 66
Mongolian Pheasant, 37 et seq. ; hybrids,

3^, 4l,_6i, 68,72
Montagu's Harrier, see Hawk
Morris, B. R., on Common Pheasant, 28 ;

on coverts, 18; on Ring - necked

Pheasant, 23
Mycosis of respiratory tract, 260
Natukai. HisiORY, study by game-
keepers, 1S8
Naumann, on Common Pheasant, 32
Nests, 35
Norfolk, coverts, excellence of, 20 ;

Japanese and Common Cross in, 60
Northamptonshire, pure bred Common

Pheasant in, 23
Northern Blood Pheasant, see Blood

Pheasant, Northern
Oak, food value, 15; in Gloucestershire,

21 ; slow growth, 17
Old English Pheasants, 22
Ophthalmia, 275
Pairing, 35
Parasitic Affections, 254
Pens, I2t)e/ seq. : (ill.), 227
Persia, Prince of Wales Pheasant in, 42
Pests, iSy et seq. (.f^^ also under names)
Phasiantis Colchicus.see Common Pheasant
Decollatiis, see Chinese Pheasant,

Ringless

Elegans, see Stone's Pheasant

Elliott, see Elliot's (Barred- backed)

Pheasant

Forinosanus. see Formosan Pheasant

Hagenbecki,see Hagenbeck's Pheasant

Mongolicus, see Mongolian Pheasant

Principalis, see Prince of Wales

Plieasant

Reevesii, see Reeves' Pheasant

Shawii, see Shaw's Pheasant

Sa'inwerringii, see Scemmerring's

Pheasant

Torquatus, see Chinese Pheasant

Versicolor, see Japanese Pheasant

Phasis River, name " Pheasant" derived

from, 22
Pheasant, in England, 30, 31 ; habits, iS ;

origin, 30 (see also under names)
Phuler, H., on pheasantry i/. wild eggs, 121
Pica Rustica, see Magpie
Pied Pheasant, 76

287

PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY

Pine, in coverts, 21

, Scotch, in coverts, 20

Pinioning, 83

I'inus Sylvestris, see Pine, Scotch

Plumage, male, assumption by female, 113;
atiraciiveness, 24

Poaching, Larch conducive to, 14, 21 ; pro-
tection, 13

Poisoning, Ivy, 284 ; lead, 282 ; mineral
and vegetable, 281 ; Yew, 15, 282

Pole-cat, 212

Pole-trap, illegal, 190

Powys, Thomas Littleton, see Lilford, Lord

Preves", Ionian Islands, Common Pheasant
observed, 31

Prince of Wales Pheasant, 40; hybrids,

41, 75
Privet, berries as food, 31 ; in coverts, 18
Prjevalsky, on Blood Pheasant, ill
QuicK-THOKN, in Coverts, 21
Rain, effect on Pheasants. 181
Raspberry, Wild, in coverts, 21
Rat, 212
Reeves' Pheasant, 49 et seq. ; hybrids, 50,

52, 71
Respiratory Tract, diseases of, 254, 260
Rhoriodendron, in coverts, 17
Ringless Pheasant, 74 ; see also Chinese

Pheasant, Ringless
Ring-necked I'heasant, Hybrids, 72 ; see

also Chinese Pheasant, Ring-necked
Romans, probable introduction of Pheasant

into England by, 31
Rook, 201

Roosting, horizontal branches and, 14
Roup, 152, 251
Salonica. Gui.F of. Common Pheasant

observed, 31
Saunders, Howard, on distribution of

Magpie, 191
Scabies, 279
Scaly-leg, 152, 277
Scotch Pine, see Pine, Scotch
Scotland, Reeves' Pheasant suited for, 49
Scour, rain causes, 181
Sea-Buckthorne, in coverts, 21
Sewell, William, onartificialincubation, 147
Sharpe, Bowdler, on Argus Pheasant, 100
Shaw's Pheasant, 47
Shooting, placing guns, 238
Shot, lead poisoning caused by, 282
Silkie Hen, for sitting, 151
Silver Pheasant, 94
Skin Diseases, 277
Small Argus Pheasant, see Argus Pheasant,

Small
Smith, Stewart, on artificial incubation,

141
Snowberry, in coverts, 21

Scemmerring's Pheasant, 55 et seq.
Soil, chalk, beech trees for planting, 15
Spruce, as roosting-place, 14
Stevenson, on Japanese and Common Cross,

61
Stoat, 212
Stone, Mr, introduction of Amherst

Pheasant, 90 ; introduction of Reeves'

Pheasant, 49
Stone's Pheasant, 78
Straying, Acorns and, 16; gamekeepers'

opinions, 222 ; prevention, 216
Suffolk, excellence of coverts, 20
Sulphurous Aciil Gas, as disinfectant, 248
Swinhoe, Consul, Elliot's Pheasant dis-
covered by, 80 ; description of Golden

Pheasant, 87
Swinhoe's Kalage Pheasant, see Silver

Pheasant
Sycamore, seeds as food, 15
Syngamus, see Gapes
Taxus Baccata, see Yew
Tegetmeier, on Japanese and Common

Cross, 60, 61 ; on lead poisoning, 282 ;

on Yew poisoning, 2S3
Temminck, early mention of Scemmerring's

Pheasant, 55
Thaumalea Amhersti<£y see Amherst

Pheasant

Picta, see Golden Pheasant

Traps, for Hawks (ill.), 199 ; for Pheasants,

130 ; pole, illegal, 190
Trees and Shrubs, best to plant, 18; list

and prices, 21 (see also under names of

trees)
Tuberculosis, 153, 252
Ursus Mf.lks, see Badger
Vardar River, Common Pheasant

abundant, 31
Virnaeeus Europaiis, see Hedgehog
Vulpes Vulgaris, see Fox
Wales, Reeves' Pheasant suited for, 49
Water, 16, 175

Watson, Peter W., on high-flying, 242
Weasel, 212

White Pheasant, see Albino Pheasant
White Tibet Eared Pheasant, see Eared

Pheasant, White Tibet
Willow, in coverts, 21
Wills, John, on artificial incubation, 145
Wilson, Dr Joseph, on Scemmerring's

Copper Pheasant, 57
Wonders of the Bird Wjf/rf (quoted), ico
Worms, 271

Yew, planting condemned, 283 ; poison-
ing, 2S2 ; as roosting-place, 14
ZooLOOicAi. Gardens, Scemmerring's

Pheasant in, 57
Zoological Proceedings (quoted), 88

COLSTONS LIMITED, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH

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