THE (PHEASANT 
PHASIANUS COLCHICUS 
Loca. names in surrounding counties : 
Stratus IN British AviraAunA: A common resident, 
non-indigenous, wherever it is preserved. 
RapiaL DistrRiBUTION WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 
Pauu’s: ‘The Pheasant is best known to Londoners as an 
attractive item of the game-dealer’s stock between October 
and January ; still it may be met with in a wild state in 
one or two localities well within the nine-mile radius. 
Probably its nearest haunt to St. Paul’s is Wimbledon 
Common, where I have frequently watched its ways in 
the wooded portions of that grand retreat for wild life. 
Then it is found in Richmond Park, breeding in the various 
enclosures from which the public is excluded, but often 
to be seen furtively wandering outside them or conceal- 
ing itself amidst the ample cover of the bracken. Coombe 
Wood, between these two localities, is another London 
haunt of the Pheasant. Elsewhere round the Metro- 
polis the distribution of this species calls for little further 
comment. It is found in many localities in the remote 
outlying districts, but nowhere in a normally wild state, 
and only in places where it 1s preserved for the sport it 
yields. Stragglers occasionally wander into other areas, 
but in no case do these include any of the central dis- 
tricts. It may be of interest to note that the first record 
of the Pheasant as a British bird is an Essex one. 
Plenty of cover and freedom from molestation are abso- 
lutely essential for the Pheasant. Its»inherent shyness 
and timidity demand in our country the same conditions 
of existence as are enjoyed by its wild progenitors in the 
jungles of the East. Although the Pheasant spends most of 
its time upon the ground, it roosts in trees and tall bushes, 
and seldom wanders beyond easy reach of dense cover of 
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