30 PHEASANTS 



thought that the Reeves cock drives away the 

 common birds. 



Reeves do best in Scotland on very high wooded 

 ground with rough timber and deep heather. 



England. I have seen a nice stock of Reeves 

 at Woburn Abbey, and watched the cocks there 

 fighting in spring. They scream and whistle, and 

 then spring up about six feet into the air, each 

 cock trying to strike the other on the head with 

 his sharp spurs. They are, however, such skilled 

 boxers that little damage is done. 



Reeves cocks are impatient and savage in 

 confinement, even with their own hens. I have 

 seen a Reeves cock kill two hens in a few 

 minutes, just because they were indifferent to his 

 advances. 



Ireland. The only place I know in Ireland 

 where there is a wild stock of Reeves pheasants 

 is The Lodge, Rosbrevor, County Down, the 

 property of the Honourable Albert Canning. 

 There the birds do remarkably well amongst old 

 trees on the edge of rough heather, nesting among 

 the fallen trees. Common pheasants, Amherst, 

 and Golden live and feed wild there too, but keep 

 to the lower woods. The Reeves find their own 

 living, and only come down to the oak woods for 

 acorns, etc., in winter. A peculiarity of their feed- 

 ing is that they dig out every bulb of the wild 

 bluebell. 



As in China they will fly across the valley 

 from one wooded top to the other — a fine sight. 



