352 THE BIRDS OF KENT 



Family PHASIANID^. 



Genus PH ASIAN US, Linmeus. 



PHEASANT. 



Phasianus colcliicus, Linnaeus. >S'.A^., i., p. 271 

 (1766). 



The early history of the introduction of the Pheasant 

 still remains uncertain, but from all that can be gathered 

 it is clear that it was before the Norman conquest. It 

 is highly probable that it came with the Eomans, who 

 brought all their luxuries with them, and who remained, 

 and made their homes in Kent, for a considerable period 

 before advancing north ; therefore it is not difficult to 

 suppose that Kent is the real birthplace of the Pheasant, 

 and from this county it has gradually spread on all sides 

 and gone or been taken north. It is well known that 

 the bird is not a northern species, even in Europe. 



Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier, in his work on Pheasants, says: 

 "The Pheasant, though introduced by, or anterior to, 

 the Romans, is still by some Britons cherished almost as 

 a visible sign of a British institution." 



Writing in the Zoologist, 1856, Mr. AVilliam Thomson 

 says : " I have received from Mr. King, of Canterbury, 

 an ivy-leaf (which I enclose) taken with many others 

 from the stomach of a hen Pheasant on January 18, 1856. 

 They were not all perfect, many being digested. The 

 crop was quite full of them, and the bird smelled and 

 tasted of ivy, although to all appearance in good condition 

 and quite healthy. There was no snow on the ground, 

 so the bird was not pressed for food, there being plenty 

 of wild blue periwinkle and ground-ivy leaves to be had. 

 None of the leaves appear to have been eaten by insects. 

 The bird was shot off a tree by the keeper, who in the 



