STRUCTURE, FOOD, AND HABITS. 11 



shooting in the marshes on the Lincolnshire side of the 

 Humber, near Grimsby, a man who works on the sea em- 

 bankment came to say that two pheasants had just flown over 

 from the Yorkshire side, alighting within a few feet of where 

 he was working among the rough grass on the bank. On 

 going to the spot indicated, I at once found and shot them ; 

 they were both hens, and in very good condition. The 

 Humber at this place from shore to shore is nearly four miles 

 across. There was a strong northerly breeze blowing at the 

 time, so that they would cross before the wind, or with the 

 wind a little aslant. I have occasionally found pheasants in 

 the marshes, and near the embankmenf, which I was sure 

 must have come across, but had no direct evidence of the 

 fact." That they are not always capable of long-sustaiued 

 flights, however, is proved by Mr. J. G. Millais, who, in 1891, 

 saw five or six attempt to cross Loch Ness at Foyers, where 

 it is more than a mile wide. They fell into the water when 

 about three-parts of the way across. 



In 1887 Mr. R. W. S. Griffith organised a series of trials 

 for the purpose of ascertaining the velocity of flight of various 

 birds. In these some of the pheasants attained a speed of 

 over thirty, the fastest thirty-eight, miles per hour. 



The comparatively small size of the wings necessitates 

 their being moved with great force and velocity, and conse- 

 quently the moving powers or muscles of the breast are very 

 large and well developed, taking their origin from the deep 

 keel on the breast bone. The tail is long, and tapers to 

 a point ; it is composed of eighteen straight pointed feathers. 



The pheasant, like most of its congeners, is a terrestrial 

 bird, seeking its food, making its nest, and rearing its young 

 upon the surface of the ground. Its legs, like those of all 

 true rasorial or scratching birds, are strong and muscular, 

 consequently it is capable of running with great speed. The 

 strong blunt claws are admirably adapted for scratching seeds 

 and tuberous roots from the ground, or worms and larvae 

 from beneath fallen leaves. 



