PHEASANTS AND 

 COVERT SHOOTING 



CHAPTER I 



THE PHEASANT FAMILY 



While the works ^ of the two leading 

 authorities on this branch of ornithology- 

 are still in the press, and not yet available 

 for the enjoyment of happy mortals who 

 can afford to possess such beautiful but 

 costly volumes as these bid fair to be, 

 humbler writers have to exercise singular 

 discretion in dealing with the place 

 assigned by science to the birds with 



1 The works referred to are Mr. C. William Beebe's 

 magnificent monograph on the Phasianidae^ which is 

 being produced under the auspices of the New York 

 Zoological Society, and Mr. Ogilvie Grant's chapters on 

 the natural history of our game birds in a forthcoming 

 edition de luxe on shooting. 



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