PHEASANT. | 44.7 
solaus of Severtzow), having scarcely perceptible green reflections on the 
upper tail-coverts, and a very narrow white ring, but with the green tips to 
the feathers of the underparts very large. West of Turkestan P. colchicus 
occurs, ranging into Hurope. The western species is best distinguished 
by its reddish-brown wing-coverts. It is supposed that the Pheasant was 
introduced into Europe from the Caucasus, and, that the Ring Pheasants 
now found in many parts are the results of the interbreeding of 
native or Caucasian birds with examples of P. torquatus imported from 
China; but Latham says that the ringed variety occurs in South-east 
Russia, a statement which Pallas appears to confirm. It is possible 
that there may be a ringed form of P. colchicus, or we may suppose that 
Ringed Pheasants were brought into Russia by the caravans from the 
east. 
The Pheasant is a very timid bird, and seldom strays far from cover. It 
is most successfully reared in plantations where there is plenty of under- 
wood to conceal it during the day, and cultivated land close by on-which 
it can stroll out to feed in early morning or late evening, ready at the 
slightest alarm to run back into cover. Large parks sprinkled over with 
snug little copses are its favourite haunts, and it may often be seen on the 
broad green drives in the forest. But though the Pheasant is never seen 
far from trees, and roosts in a tree, or will take refuge in the branches if 
it be disturbed by a fox or persecuted by the sportsman, it is essentially a 
_ground-bird, and trusts more to its feet than to its wings for safety. It runs 
with great speed, and does not take wing except in extreme need. In the 
quiet of an early misty morning or in the calm of a summer evening the 
Pheasant quits the cover and repairs to the neighbouring fields in search 
of food; but where the herbage is tall and dense it will remain 
amongst it throughout the day, only quitting it at nightfall for the nest 
or the roosting-place. It feeds on grain, insects, worms, tender shoots of ~ 
many kinds, and various small seeds and berries, especially those of the 
elder and the blackberry. It consumes enormous quantities of wire-worms, 
and in autumn it frequents the open glades, feeding upon the acorns and 
beech-mast. To this fare is usually added much artificial food spread by 
the gamekeepers on the “ drives” and platforms of branches erected in the 
woods, the birds being often so tame as to come and pick up this food at 
the keeper’s feet. Small patches of beans are often planted near the woods 
for this bird to feed upon in autumn. When surprised in an open spot 
the male invariably runs off at the approach of a stranger; but the female 
often crouches close to the earth and remains motionless, her colours so 
blending with the withered leaves that she is comparatively safe. If she 
perceives that she is detected, she starts suddenly up, and running 
rapidly through the intricacies of the underwood is soon lost to view. 
In the semi-domesticated state in which this bird is found in England it 
