18 THE CHINA OR DENNY PHEASANT IN OREGON 



them, standing fearlessly outlined against the sky, until at last a bullet more true than 

 its predecessor, and the bird is cut down. 



Some even say that the China pheasant is aiding in the work of extermination, but it 

 is more probable that careful scientific observation will show the real trouble to rest largely 

 with the grouse, it being unable to adapt itself to the new conditions accompanying the 

 settlement of the country. 



In a curious way the territories inhabited by the sooty grouse and China pheasant 

 seem to overlap in such a manner as to leave them largely independent of one another, 

 yet resulting occasionally in the appearance of hybrids. Of these more will be said later. 

 As stated before, the grouse is largely a bird of the timber, appearing in the fields in autumn, 

 wintering and breeding in the mountains and foot-hills. The pheasant is primarily a bird 

 of the fields, showing only a slight tendency to seek the shelter of the foot-hills during 

 winter. 



To know the pheasant well, one must live with him throughout the year. He is a 

 bird of moods, influenced by shifting conditions and passing seasons, of which there are 

 for him, in reality, but two, the open and close. Within a few days after the law says 

 no more shooting, he becomes bold and fearless, even to the extent of sharing the food 

 of the barn-yard fowls in winter, though always reserved and suspicious. In the brush 



