THE PHEASANT. 177 



were in the room at the time when this singular accident 

 occurred. The reflection of the mirror had apparently 

 deceived the bird and caused it to fly straight through 

 the room. 



There can be no doubt that Phasianus colchicus is 

 the original stock of our common Pheasant, the so-called 

 Bohemian being only a buff-coloured variety. The intro- 

 duction of the Chinese species (P. torquatus) to the coverts 

 of this country has produced the beautiful ring-necked birds 

 which we often see in our woods. 



The Pheasant is fond of thick bushy under-cover, where 

 brambles and long grass abound. It seldom strays very far 

 from plantations, but in the morning and evening it may 

 be seen feeding on the adjoining stubble fields, where it 

 picks up fallen grain, insects, and worms. It eats large num- 

 bers of wire-worms. 1 Acorns, beech-nuts, sloes, haws, and 

 blackberries also form part of its food. 



It makes its slight nest on the ground amongst the 

 herbage of woods and plantations, or in the bottom of a 

 thick hedge-row, or sometimes amongst growing corn. The 

 eggs, which are olive-brown in colour, are usually laid in 

 April or May, and vary from ten to fourteen, although a 

 larger number has been found, when more than one hen 

 has laid in the same nest. 



Yarrell states that the well-known suppression of the 

 scent of a sitting hen, so necessary for the safety of ground 

 nesting species, is due to vicarious secretion that is to say, 

 the odoriferous particles which are usually exhaled from the 

 skin are, during incubation, excreted from the intestinal 

 canal. 2 



1 Yarrell mentions an instance of 1200 wire-worms being taken out of the crop 

 of a single Pheasant. British Birds, fourth edition, vol. iii. p. 99. 



2 Ibid. p. 98. 



VOL. II. 



