318 BULLETIN 162, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



in the snow and by the droppings. Although corn was available in an adjacent 

 field this pheasant had nothing in his crop and only grass in his gizzard. 



Behavior. — The introduction of the ring-necked pheasant has 

 added greatly to the charms of the countryside. To watch a cock 

 pheasant striding along the ground or launching into the air, show- 

 ing his metallic-blue head, his snow-white neck ring, his golden- 

 brown back, and his long magnificent tail is always worth while. 

 The males, as if aware of their conspicuous shape and colors, gener- 

 ally run away or flush at some distance, while the modest-hued hens 

 depend more on their protective coloration and allow a much closer 

 approach. Frequenting for the most part cultivated fields and 

 bushy pastures, they are also to be found in swamps and moist 

 thickets and among sand dunes. In the sand their tracks are as 

 easily seen and recognized as in the snow — three toe marks widely 

 diverging, with a dot or a line behind and on the inner side made by 

 the hind toe if the sand or snow is soft. Occasionally the tracks 

 show that they drag the middle toe, but the birds usually step clear. 

 When the bird is walking, the distance between tracks is generally 

 4 or 5 inches, but a stride of 7 or 8 inches is not uncommon, and I 

 have measured several tracks where 18 inches was cleared at each 

 running step. In running the tail is cocked up at an angle of 45°, 

 but when the bird is feeding it is generally held horizontally. 

 Pheasants have been seen swimming across bodies of water (Teget- 

 meier, 1911). 



When suddenly startled, pheasants flush with a loud metallic whir 

 of the wings, but not so thunderous as that of the ruffed grouse. 

 Occasionally a bird flies off almost silently. They are able to shoot 

 up nearly vertically if they are hemmed in by trees or a building, 

 and they make off at a great speed, which has been estimated to reach 

 38 miles an hour (Tegetmeier, 1911). When not much frightened 

 they soon set their wings and scale, each primary standing out like 

 fingers on a hand, while the long tail is spread to its utmost and 

 curved downward for a brake, and their wings are fluttered rapidly 

 as they approach a landing. In flight the feet are at first drawn up 

 in front but are quickly jerked back and are held extended behind 

 under the tail. In very short distance flights this backward extension 

 may not take place. It is generally believed that a pheasant's flight 

 is limited to somewhat less than a mile, although, when helped by a 

 strong wind, longer distances are accomplished. In a very strong 

 wind a cock pheasant in attempting to fly over my house one January 

 day collided with a chimney and met his instant death. 



As to the distance to which pheasants wander from their coverts, 

 Leffingwell (1928) states that of 16 banded birds recovered within 

 three years " but two exceeded two miles, while the average distance 



