40 Aviary Pheasants. 



on his estate in Inverness-shire. I think for aviary 

 purposes the Amherst is the handsomest of the genus, 

 as distinguished from true pheasants (Phasianus), and 

 the best for fanciers with a limited space. 



The Amherst cock is a graceful and elegant bird. 

 Although his feathers are not so valuable as those of 

 the Gold, some are very useful to the salmon-fly 

 maker. The bird is larger than the Gold ; crest 

 black, with a few red feathers, the whole crest being 

 much shorter than that of the Gold ; iris white ; face 

 pale green ; tippet white, edged and barred with green 

 and black like that of the Gold ; breast deep green, 

 edged with black ; back, ditto ; belly white ; saddle 

 orange-red ; tail, two centre feathers of great length, 

 grey with black bars, laced, outer feathers grey, shaded 

 with brown, and having semicircular bars of black ; 

 inner web black and white mottled ; legs lead colour. 

 The hens are very similar to the Gold, but with a 

 rich chestnut head, and altogether of a richer brown, 

 but not so yellow on the breast. 



Probably I have bred more Amhersts than anyone 

 else in England, and I find they require no special 

 care. They do not obtain their full plumage till the 

 second year, and it was said they did not breed till 

 that age ; but this is incorrect. These birds were at 

 first supposed to require a warm aviary, but I have 

 had mine roost in the open, in the winter of 1 880-81, 

 with the thermometer 3 below zero, and 5ft. of 

 driven snow in their aviaries, and I think they rather 

 enjoyed it. They do not like wet or damp weather 



