SPORT IN WESTERN CHINA 109 



The bird of the plains is almost semi-aquatic in its habits, 

 breeding in swamps and places more generally associated 

 with waterfowl than pheasants. In the reed-bed region 

 bordering the Tungting Lake I have, on several occasions, 

 enjoyed good shooting, and it was always in the wet marshy 

 places that the birds were most plentiful. Winter Snipe are 

 common in this same region, and a right and left Pheasant and 

 Snipe is commonly obtainable. On my first shooting trip in 

 the reed-bed region I was ignorant of the aquatic habits of this 

 Pheasant, and a friend and I worked all the dry, likely-looking 

 places for the best part of a day with most discouraging 

 results, until we accidentally plunged into a swampy region 

 and found the birds. Water, food, and cover are everywhere 

 the three essentials for pheasants of all kinds, but this bird of 

 the plains seems to have a stronger predilection for the first- 

 named than does any other species. The probable explanation 

 is that in the marshes it enjoys greater protection from enemies, 

 both two and four footed, than in the dry, open, and highly 

 cultivated plains. 



In times past some extraordinary bags of this Pheasant 

 have been made, and records of such are given in Mr. Wade's 

 book. The bird is still quite common in the Yangtsze Valley, 

 but natives, shooting for the market supply of the various 

 treaty-ports, and especially that of Shanghai, have cleared 

 many of the best districts known to foreigners. Phenomenal 

 bags are no longer obtainable, and each year the foreign sports- 

 man has to go farther afield if he wishes to enjoy good shooting. 



The cunning of the " Ring-neck " is proverbial, and the bird 

 is so well known that description is unnecessary. The white 

 ring round the neck and the white eyebrows are constant 

 features that distinguish this bird from other species. The 

 average measurement of the male is 32 to 34 inches tip to tip. 



The common Pheasant of the mountains of central China 

 (P. holder eri) is about the same size as the " Ring-neck." 

 The head and neck black with bluish and green reflec- 

 tions, occasionally with a more or less complete white neck- 

 ring ; breast purplish, abdomen black ; sides dull yellow, each 

 feather having a black spot near the tip ; upper back dull 

 yellowish, feathers notched and margined narrowly with 



