THE PHEASANT 51 



people, we imagine, would contend that the mallard and pintail, for 

 example, were but subspecifically distinct ! On this theme, however, 

 no more need be said. Bearing in mind, then, the composite char- 

 acter of the pheasant as encountered in Great Britain, we may 

 proceed to discuss its habits. 



What we may call the parent species of the pheasants of these 

 islands are in their choice of haunts alike; and hence the blend 

 which now makes our pheasant has not been hampered by a conflict 

 of ancestral emotions in its choice of haunts. While they by no 

 means shun the immediate neighbourhood of man, foraging in gardens 

 and shrubberies where such adjoin a safe retreat, they thrive only in 

 country affording thick plantations of oak, hazel, or fir, or a mixture of 

 these, with plenty of undergrowth and long grass, when the soil is 

 sandy and well watered by streams or pools. But they display 

 a stronger partiality for areas covered by reeds and long grass in the 

 neighbourhood of rivers, such being the haunts of the species in 

 a wild state : and where such cover is to be had with us they will 

 forsake the plantations dedicated to their use. Spending most of the 

 day upon the ground, and wandering outwards from their coverts in 

 search of food, they fly but seldom. The homeward journey to roost, 

 however, is made on the wing. Though incapable of sustained aerial 

 journeys, they travel fairly fast, attaining a speed of about thirty miles 

 per hour, though, at need, a considerably higher rate is possible. Nor 

 do they travel high, rarely mounting more than a hundred feet. On 

 alighting they run a short distance, then take their bearings. That their 

 powers of turning swiftly when on the wing are limited is shown by 

 records of birds which have been killed by collision in mid-air. That 

 the pheasant is a bird of relatively limited powers of flight is manifest 

 from the shape of the expanded wing, which is short and rounded. And 

 the correctness of this inference is attested by observations made by 

 the late John Cordeaux, Mr. Millais, and Mr. Donald Campbell. The 

 name of John Cordeaux will be known to all who are interested in 

 ornithology, and probably many will remember the case which he 



