Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

THE COMMON PHEASANT.

The COMMON PHEASANT (Phasianus Colchicus) is so variegated as to render an accurate description of its plumage extremely difficult. The head, as well as part of the neck, is green, with a resplendent blue gloss; the lower part of the neck, breast, belly, and sides are reddish brown, glistening with purple, each feather on these parts being edged with glossy black. The feathers on the mantle have white crescent-shaped spots below the border. The flowing, ragged feathers on the rump are dark copper-red, shaded with purple; the quills striped brown and reddish yellow; and the tail-feathers olive-grey, striped with black, and bordered with reddish brown. The eye is reddish yellow, the bare regions round the eye red, the beak light brownish yellow, and the foot reddish grey or lead-colour. This species is from thirty to thirty-two inches long, and from twenty-nine to thirty-one broad; the wing measures nine inches and a half, and the tail sixteen inches. The female is of inferior size, and has the entire plumage of a brownish grey tint, spotted and striped with black and deep reddish brown; the feathers on her back are darker than the rest of the body. The Banded and Isabel Pheasants closely resemble the above bird in their general appearance: but the first is distinguishable therefrom by a narrow white band on the throat, the deeper shade of its colouring, and the comparative paleness of its black markings; whilst the Isabel Pheasant is principally of a light yellowish grey, each feather edged with a deeper shade, the belly, on the contrary, is very dark, sometimes quite black. The females of both these last-mentioned varieties are similar to their mates in the principal hues of their plumage.

The Common Pheasant, which is now naturalised all over the European continent, was originally introduced from Colchis, and derived its name from the river Phasis, in the neighbourhood of which it was especially abundant. In its native country, now called Mingrelia, it is still to be found wild, and of unequalled beauty. This bird, which is spread extensively over England, as far north as Northumberland, prefers woods, especially those of oak or beech, and such as have a growth of long grass and brambles, also damp ground where osiers and reeds abound, and hedgerows, but always lives in the vicinity of wood and water. During the day these Pheasants remain on the ground, moving quietly from bush to bush, as they go in search of food at dawn and sunset. In their progress to their feeding-place they always run, and on this account are very easily taken by wire snares set in the narrow paths that they make in the long grass which they constantly frequent. Towards evening they go to roost on low branches, taking their place near the stem or trunk of the tree. This habit of roosting upon trees is very fatal to their safety, since, being objects of considerable size, readily distinguishable by their long tails, and not easily frightened from the perch, they offer a sure mark during moonlight nights to the poacher's gun. The roosting-place of the male is very easily discovered, for he invariably chuckles when he first "trees," or goes to perch; and the female usually chirps on the same occasion. During summer and the period of moulting the Pheasant rarely perches, but retires for the night to the longest grass or other thick cover, and does not begin to "mount" again until towards the end of September or the beginning of October, having at that time renewed its plumage. Where Pheasants are numerous, the males are generally found associated during the winter separate from the females; and it is not until the end of March that they allow the approach of the latter without signs of displeasure, or at least indifference. At the above-mentioned time, however, the male bird assumes an altered appearance; the scarlet on his cheeks and around his eyes acquires additional depth of colour, and he walks with a more measured step, with his wing let down, and his tail carried in a more erect position. Being polygamous, he now takes possession of a certain "beat," from whence he drives every male intruder, and commences his crowing, which is accompanied by a peculiar clapping of his wings as a note of invitation to the other sex, as well as of defiance to his own. The female makes a very inartificial nest upon the ground, in long grass or thick underwood, and not unfrequently in fields of clover; she lays from ten to fourteen eggs, of a clear yellowish grey-green colour. The young are hatched during the months of June and July, and continue with the hen until they begin to moult and assume the adult plumage; after this period the young males are only to be distinguished from the older birds by the comparative bluntness and shortness of the tarsal spur. Usually when alarmed the Pheasant escapes by running rapidly, and seldom uses its wings, except in cases of very pressing danger.

"An old cock Pheasant," says Mr. Yarrell, "immediately on hearing a dog give tongue in a wood where he is, will foot away to the farthest corner, particularly if the wood be open at bottom, and from thence run one dry ditch or hedgerow after another for half a mile to the next covert; but a hen Pheasant seems to trust to her brown colour to escape detection, and, squatting in any bit of long grass that is near her, often surprises and startles the young shooter not a little by bouncing up with a rattling noise close at his feet. The poor frightened bird is frequently indebted to the sensation thus created for a clear escape. The brown earth-like colour of the plumage of the females of several species of Pheasants seems to be an admirable provision, not only for their individual safety, but for the preservation of the whole race."

In a wild state, the Pheasant feeds on grain, seeds, green leaves, and insects; also on some kinds of bulbs and berries.

THE CHINESE RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

The CHINESE RING-NECKED PHEASANT (Phasianus torquatus) is even more beautiful than its congeners. In this elegant bird the head and part of the throat are green; a line over the eyes and a collar about the throat white; the feathers on the nape almost black near the shaft, with broad yellow borders; and those on the mantle black at the base, with alternate yellow and black streaks, each feather edged with bright red. The long feathers on the rump and upper wing-covers are greenish grey, marked and dotted with red; those on the belly purplish brown, with conical black spots on the shafts, and those on the sides brownish yellow, marked with large round dark spots on the shafts. The quills are greyish brown, striped with greyish yellow, and secondaries reddish grey; the tail-feathers are greenish yellow, streaked with black. The eye is yellowish, the wattle on the cheek red, the beak light grey, and the foot brownish yellow. The size of this species is about that of the Common Pheasant. The hen resembles the female of the latter in her general appearance, but is somewhat redder. China is the native land of this beautiful species, which is there very abundant in wood-covered tracts.

"These birds," says Latham, "were first introduced into England under the name of Barbary Pheasants, by the Duke of Northumberland, and many were bred and turned out at large at Alnwick. Other noblemen and gentlemen have done the same, and thus the breed has become numerous. Birds of this species mix and breed with the Common Pheasant, and thus present much variety in their plumage, some having a well-defined and others a narrow and imperfect ring around the neck; the feathers of the flank, also, do not present the pure colouring either of P. torquatus or of P. Colchicus."

Living specimens of this species have bred so abundantly in the gardens of the Zoological Society that birds and eggs have been transmitted to different parts of the country. The flight of the Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant when started is both rapid and direct, and is often continued to a considerable distance before the bird again enters the cover.