404 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Phalli bj C. Riid] 



RED COCHINS 



The 'Wings in the typical Cochins are so short as to be useless 



migration may be gathered from Canon Tris- 

 tram's statement that in Algeria, in April, he 

 found the ground covered with quails for an 

 extent of many acres at daybreak, where on the 

 preceding afternoon not one was to be seen. 

 These are the birds which were so eagerly seized 

 by the Israelites as a welcome change in the diet 

 which had become so monotonous in the days 

 of their early wanderings. The story, so vividly 

 told in the Book of Numbers (xi. 31-33) is, of 

 course, familiar to all. 



The quail lays from nine to fifteen eggs 

 in a feeble apology for a nest. It is said that 

 the curious metallic note "clic-lic-lic " gave 

 origin to the Spanish Castanet, for these birds 

 are much esteemed in Spain, being kept in 

 cages for the pleasure their notes afford. 



There are five or six other species of quail 

 closely related to the above. The British bird 

 enjoys an enormous range, being found almost 

 everywhere in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The 



so-called AMERICAN QUAILS some forty species in number -are generally regarded as 



belonging to a distinct group. 



That ornament to all rural scenery, the PHEASANT, is said to have been introduced from 



the banks of the river Phasis, in Colchis, Transcaucasia, by the Romans at least, the original 



form of pheasant was. Late during the eighteenth century a Japanese and a Chinese form 



were introduced, and these have freely interbred with the original form, so that pure bred 



specimens of any of the three are rare. 



The speed of a pheasant on the wing in full flight has been estimated at thirty-eight 



miles an hour. Occasionally pheasants will take to the water, and are said to swim well. 



The number of pheasants reared by hand at the present day is prodigious. In 1883, 



Professor Newton tells us, 134,000 pheasants' 



eggs were sold from one estate in Norfolk, while 



9,700 fully grown birds were killed upon it. In 



olden times pheasants were taken in snares or 



nets, by hawking, and by the cross-bow; but on 



the introduction of guns these methods were 



superseded. 



Yet another form of pheasant has been in- 

 troduced here of late years. This is REEVES's 



PHEASANT, a truly magnificent bird, with a tail 



fully 5 feet long in adult males. These birds 



also interbreed with the more common forms, 



but not freely. 



Beautiful as these pheasants undoubtedly 



are, they are eclipsed by many of their relatives. 



Among the most noteworthy of these we may 



notice the magnificent TRAGOPANS. Rich in 



coloration of the feathers, these birds have ph,t, k, c. 



added an additional feature in brilliantly coloured BROWN LEGHORN COCK 



areas of bare skin on the head and neck, which 



inn breed has been derived by crossing fyhile Leghorns "With 



are furthermore rendered conspicuous by being Game-fowl 



