PHEASANT. 357 



sometimes met with. Average measurement, i'4 inch 

 in length, by 1-15 inch in breadth. Incubation, per- 

 formed by the female, lasts from twenty-one to twenty- 

 four days. 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of the Par- 

 tridge may be readily distinguished, by their uniform 

 olive tint and their size, from those of all other species 

 brcedin"- in our area. 



Family PHASIAXID.^. Genus Phasianus. 



Sub-family PHASIANIN.'E. 



PHEASANT. 



Phasianus colchicus, Linnccus. 

 Single Brooded. Laying season, April and May. 



British breeding area : The Pheasant is widely 

 and generally distributed throughout the British Islands, 

 in all suitable districts where it is preserved, even ex- 

 tending to the Outer Hebrides, where it has been 

 successfully introduced. 



Breeding habits : The habits of such a semi- 

 domesticated species as the Pheasant need little descrip- 

 tion. The bird is of course a resident in our islands, 

 where it would doubtless soon become extinct if the strict 

 protection it now enjoys were withdrawn. Wherever it is 

 fostered thus artificially by man it may be found, the 

 only condition being the presence of cover. It thrives 

 best in such woods as contain plenty of bottom 

 growth, and adjoining which fields and open ground 

 afford feeding-places. In a truly wild state the Pheasant 

 appears to be strictly monogamous, but semi-domestic- 

 ation has so far aflectcd its morals as to render it 



