CHAPTER XIV 



PHEASANTS 



The guinea and the peafowl were described as closely related 

 to the pheasants, and as of limited usefulness to man both 

 because of their ugly dispositions and because of their roving 

 habits. The species of pheasants that are best known are a 

 little farther removed from domestication by their extreme shy- 

 ness, and have often been excluded from lists of domestic birds ; 

 yet it is quite possible that some of them may become of much 

 greater economic importance in America than either the guinea 

 or the peafowl. 



Description. The most common kinds of pheasants are about 

 the size of small domestic fowls, but have rounder, plumper 

 bodies. There are also other characteristic differences. The 

 head of a pheasant, except a part of the face around the eye, 

 is usually feathered. This bare skin, called the wattle, is red 

 in most species, but in a few it is purplish. The feathers of 

 the neck are short, and the tail is depressed. Some of the rarer 

 kinds of pheasants are as large as medium-sized fowls. 



Pheasants as a class are distinguished principally for their 

 brilliant plumage. In most species the male alone has showy 

 coloring, the females being very sober hued. In some species 

 the male has a very long tail, corresponding to the train of the 

 peacock ; in some the tail is wide and heavy, as well as quite 

 long ; in others the males are feathered like the females. 



The name " pheasant " comes from the name of the river 

 Phasis in Colchis, at the eastern end of the Euxine Sea. The 

 term "fowl" is not used in connection with "pheasant," but the 

 words "cock," "hen," and "chicken" are used as in other cases 

 that have been mentioned. 



