78 BRITISH BIRDS. 



" See ! from the brake the whirring pheasant springs, 

 And mounts exulting on triumphant wings : 

 Short is his joy ; he feels the fiery wound, 

 Flutters in blool, and panting beats the ground. 

 Ah ! what avail his glossy, varying dyes. 

 His purple crest, and scarlet -circled eyes; 

 The vivid green his shining plumes unfold. 

 His painted wings, and breast that flames with gold !" 



Sagacity is not so apparent in this bird as in many 

 others. WTien roused, it will frequently perch on the 

 first tree ; and so intent is it on the dogs, that the sports- 

 man is allowed a very near approach. At the time of 

 their perching, too, pheasants often crow, or make a 

 chuckling noise. While thus exposed to destruction, 

 to say nothing of other devices, the poacher catches 

 them with wire-nooses, twisted horse-hairs, and even 

 with a brier set at the edge of a wood, for they always 

 run to feed in the neighbouring fields morning and 

 evening. 



The instinct of a sitting bird is, as in all other cases, 

 fully adapted to its circumstances. In the wild state, 

 when relaxation is necessary, the wearied pheasant first 

 covers her eggs, and then, instead of running from the 

 nest, instantly takes wing. Thus she has been observed 

 betaking herself to flight immediately from her nest in 

 the grass, and, on her return, keeping on the wing till 

 she dropped upon it. The reason of her so doing ex- 



