This glorious bird is the Phasianus Colchicus of naturalists, the first term meaning a Pheasant, and the second of Colchis, the ancient name of a country of Asia Minor, from whence it is said the bird was originally brought into Europe, by the old Greek navigators, called the argonauts, say some—those who in the ship Argo, sailed the seas under the command of Jason, and went through a series of surprising adventures connected with the bearing away of a certain golden fleece from the King of Colchis, all of which are faithfully reported in the mythology, for the admiration and belief of the credulous. Certain it is that if Jason had not with him such a treasure as a golden fleece, he had in the Pheasant a golden bird, if there really ever was such a person, and he did in reality bring the splendid king of the English preserves into Europe.
A description of the bird's gorgeous plumage we need not attempt, as all of our readers must have seen it hanging up in the poulterer's shops, if they have not been startled by the sudden whirr of its wings as it rose from the fern-brake or thicket at their approach, as they wandered amid the green woods where it delights to dwell.
The nest of this bird consists of merely a few leaves placed in a slight depression on the ground, sometimes in the open field near to a preserve or plantation, but more frequently among the underwood, in long grass and in hedge-rows; frequently the situation chosen is beneath boughs that have been felled, or have fallen from the tree. The laying of the eggs commences in April or May; incubation lasts from twenty-four to twenty-six days; the number sat upon varies from six up to as many as fourteen; more than this have been found in one nest, but it was not likely to have been the produce of a single hen; the colour of the eggs is pale olive brown, covered all over with very small dots of a deeper tint. Poachers are ever on the look-out for these eggs, as a sitting of them fetches a high price; they are generally, when taken from the nest, placed under a common hen to be hatched. Some have been found of a greyish white tinged with green. It is said that Partridges are sometimes expelled from their nests by these birds, which will sit upon their own eggs, and those of the rightful owner of the nest, and hatch them all.
Generally speaking, the Pheasant is a shy wary bird, and with good reason, being such an object of pursuit with sportsmen, as well as unlicensed depredators; but where secured from molestation and well fed, it becomes bold and familiar. Its general food is grain of various kinds, peas, beans, nuts, and berries, shoots and leaves of several plants, roots, and insects: it is particularly partial to sunflower seeds and buckwheat.
The variety called the Ring-necked Pheasant is distinguished by a clear ring of white round the neck; there is also a variety known as the Bohemian Pheasant, which is of a stone-colour prettily marked and mottled with black and brown. White and cream-coloured ones occasionally occur.
BLACK GROUSE.
BLACK GAME. BLACK COCK. FEMALE—GREY OR BROWN HEN.
FIGURE 25.
The meaning of the generic name of this bird—Tetrao, is by no means clear, neither is that of its specific name tetrix: are they not both derived from the Hindostanee word Tetur? is the query of Morris, who does not tell us what this tetur means.
The Black Grouse, conspicuous for its large size, glossy black plumage, forked tail, turning out like the flakes of an anchor, and noble bearing, is, with the exception of its near relative, the Capercaillie, or Cock of the Woods, now only to be found in some of the Scottish forests, the largest of our native game birds. It is found chiefly in Scotland, where it frequents those parts where there is a good growth of underwood or heather, or other thick vegetation, and also plenty of water, which appears to be necessary to its existence. It is also found in many of the English counties, being tolerably plentiful in Yorkshire and Northumberland, and about Windermere, in Westmoreland. It feeds on juniper and most other berries, and wild fruits, heather-twigs, and young shoots of many plants; the tops of grasses, rushes, sedge, and buds of trees, turnip and rape leaves, and even the young fronds of the fern.
The nest, which is placed in some marshy spot among heath, or in plantations or hedge-rows, amid the rank vegetation, is composed of grass or twigs, neatly laid but not woven together. The eggs are from five to eight or ten in number; the colour is reddish yellow, in some nearly white; they are irregularly spotted with reddish brown: they are generally laid in May.
A fine full-grown Black Cock will weigh nearly four pounds; and the Grey Hen, which has a sober dress of brown and grey prettily intermixed, about half this weight. They are birds much valued as table delicacies; and every year immense numbers are shot by eager sportsmen, who leave the desk and the counter, the senate-house and the drawing-room, to roam amid the Scottish moors and mountains, and undergo fatigues and privations with an endurance and perseverance worthy of a better cause.