448 BRITISH BIRDS. 
is undoubtedly polygamous. It can scarcely be said to have a “ laking- 
place” like the Capercaillie or the Black Grouse ; but during the pairing- 
season the crow of the Pheasant may be heard continually in the morning 
as he calls his hens around him. This cry is a long drawn-out kor-ork, 
and is followed by a clapping of the wings; it is continually heard as the 
birds are retiring to roost at night, or if they are disturbed during their 
slumbers. There seems to be some reason to believe that in his native 
wilds the Pheasant pairs like most other birds, and that his polygamous 
habits have been acquired, like those of the domestic Mallard, since his 
acclimatization in our parks and plantations. During the shooting-season 
probably far more cocks are shot than hens, and the inequality of numbers 
of the sexes thus produced may have something to do with their habits in 
this respect. In the wild state what little information there is to be found 
on the subject points to the conclusion that the Pheasant is monogamous. 
Prjevalski says that in Mongolia whenever he saw a family either of the 
Ring-necked Pheasant or the ringless variety of the same species both 
parents were always present, and the cock bird seemed to look as anxiously 
after the young as the hen. It is said that even in this country the cock 
bird is sometimes found upon the nest, and occasionally takes part in the 
care of the young. The flight of the Pheasant is very quick, and performed 
by rapid and incessant beats of its rounded wings. Its whirr as it rises is 
particularly loud and startling as the bird tops the bushes, and threading 
its way through the network of branches, hurries off to a place of safety. 
In the hot months of the year the Pheasant often seeks some bare sandy 
spot where it dusts itself like a Lark; and it also frequently drinks, the 
presence of water being an important item in a good preserve. 
The inherent timidity which characterizes the Pheasant naturally causes 
it to breed in localities where its privacy is not disturbed. Its favourite 
breeding-grounds are in the deepest woods, plantations, and copses, in the 
dense hedgerows, or even amongst the growing crops. In this country the 
male birds separate late in March or very early in April, and crow, flap 
their wings, and otherwise display their attractions; but upon their 
pugnacity depends the annual possession of the females. Armed with 
powerful weapons of offence, few birds fight so fiercely, the strongest 
and most vigorous males often having six or eight females in their 
harem, each of which is probably the trophy of a well-fought conflict. 
After pairing-duties are over, the male bird keeps in company with 
his mates until the eggs are deposited in April and May, when he 
usually quits them for ever, and leaves them to bring up their families 
alone. Each female makes her own nest, though it is not improbable, 
where the eggs are large in number, that two birds lay in the same nest. 
It is usually placed amongst fern, under brushwood and brambles, and 
amongst the herbage in the fields and hedges. Sometimes the nest 
