574 GAME BIBDS OF CALIFORNIA 



to give a short account of the life-history and habits of the species. 

 In the chapter on "History of Attempts to Introduce Non-native 

 Game Birds into California" there is a fairly comprehensive history 

 of the various attempts to introduce the species into this state (p. 30) ; 

 and in the chapter on "The Propagation of Game Birds" directions 

 are given for rearing the species in captivity (p. 51). The present 

 account will deal with its habits in the wild, chiefly as reported from 

 California and Oregon. 



This pheasant thrives best in and about tracts of rank vegetation 

 in the ' ' fog belt ' ' of the North Coast counties, rather than in the drier 

 areas inhabited by the Valley Quail. In these moist regions the Ring- 

 neck finds conditions as to temperature, humidity and rainfall which 

 closely approximate those of its original home in eastern Asia. An 

 examination of rainfall data shows that the Humboldt Bay district 

 of California has an average annual rainfall of 45.8 inches; Portland, 

 Oregon, where the pheasant thrives as an introduced species, has 45.6 

 inches ; while Shanghai and Hongkong, China, two localities in its 

 native home, have 43.6 and 84.3 inches, respectively. So, also, the 

 relative humidity at Eureka averages 86%, at Portland 75%, and at 

 Shanghai and Hongkong 80% and 77%. In such other parts of 

 California as are inhabited by the pheasant, as the Santa Clara Valley, 

 the birds seek shelter in moist thickets or swampy places, probably 

 finding there atmospheric conditions which parallel those in the north 

 coast district and in eastern China. 



No native bird of California is to be confused with the Ring-necked 

 Pheasant. Its long tail and fowl-like habits easily distinguish it 

 from any of our upland game species with which it may be found. 

 The brilliant, variegated plumage of the male, with blue black head, 

 white neck collar, and fiery-colored breast, is quite distinctive, as is 

 also the long tail of the female together with her uniformly pale brown 

 toned breast. The male, unlike any of our native game birds wears a 

 spur on his leg. 



The usual haunt of the Ring-necked Pheasant is thick cover, but 

 with open spaces nearby where it can forage. During the greater 

 portion of the year the birds go in flocks, males and females separately. 

 At night many of the birds roost on the ground, in a manner unlike 

 that of most of our native game birds, and thus they are more than 

 ordinarily subject to ground-dwelling predatory animals or "vermin." 

 In Oregon, in certain places at least, pheasants are reported to roost 

 in trees and on fences, sometimes more than a hundred together, 

 through the night. 



The hen pheasant makes her nest of leaves or dry grass in a 

 sheltered situation in a cultivated field or on grassland. Sometimes 

 it is protected by a tussock of grass, or a shrub or tree. The eggs 



