THE PHEASANT 47 



THE PHEASANT 

 [W. P. PTCRAFT] 



The pheasant such as most of us are familiar with to-day is like 

 the " American " a mixture of many types. The true " American," 

 claiming descent from the Pilgrim Fathers, has been swamped by a 

 medley of races from many lands. Similarly, the pheasant (Phasianus 

 colchicus) has lost its identity, so far as these islands are concerned, 

 by the introduction of alien species which, interbreeding with the 

 ancient stock, have transformed it beyond all recognition. It is not 

 within the scope of the present work to trace out in detail how this 

 process of transformation has taken place, or to describe minutely the 

 various species which, from time to time, have been " turned down " 

 into our coverts, for these, at any rate, are not British birds. It is a 

 moot point, indeed, whether even the pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, is 

 entitled to this rank. According to some, this bird was introduced with 

 many other excellent things by the Romans. Others aver that it is an 

 indigenous species, and this because fossil remains of a pheasant 

 have been found not only as far south as Greece, but also as far west 

 as France. Now, as Great Britain so late as Pleistocene times formed 

 a part of the mainland of Europe, it is quite possible that this bird 

 may have accompanied the elephant, rhinoceros, cave-bears and lions, 

 and many other species long since extinct not only on our soil but in 

 Europe. But be this as it may, even if introduced by the Romans 

 we may fairly claim for it the rank of a British bird ; indeed many 

 of its most zealous guardians are satisfied, in claiming British 

 nationality, with a pedigree which goes no farther back than 1066 : few 

 of us can do even this. From the remotest periods of our history 

 the pheasant has been regarded with singular favour, and rightly so : 

 the strong arm of the law has always guarded its safety. In Saxon 

 times even a limit was put on the number which might be slain. 



