10 PHEASANTS 



This group is already sufficiently for- 

 midable in numbers, yet would still admit 

 of further extension by the inclusion of 

 nearly as many again less clearly defined 

 species to which naturalists allow the 

 dignity of a name. There is often too 

 much matter of purely scientific interest 

 given place in books ostensibly written for 

 those who care for sport — we trust that 

 in these pages the limit in this respect has 

 not been exceeded — and patient readers 

 may be glad to find that with this bare 

 notice of their existence, all but five of 

 this long tale of pheasants are dismissed 

 from our count, having little value for us 

 as birds of sport, either because their 

 homes are so distant and difficult of 

 access as to make free importation im- 

 possible, or are rare birds in their own 

 countries, or else have no special features 

 to commend them to our notice. 



Only Hagenbeck's pheasant seems to 

 deserve a word in passing ; this is a truly 

 magnificent bird of a type familiar to us 

 all — Mr. Millais terms it a glorified edition 



