THE PHEASANT 



127 



P. shawii, a collarless bird approaching somewhat 

 closely in point of exterior resemblance to the common 

 species, as also does the Yarkand pheasant, P. insignis, 

 which, however, bears the insignia of the white collar. 



Other notable examples occasionally met with in 

 English pheasan tries or, more rarely, woods, are the 

 golden and the silver pheasant ; Elliot's pheasant, a 

 bird of wondrously fine plumage ; Scemmerring's 

 pheasant, a remarkably long-tailed bird from Japan having 

 copper-coloured feathers bearing a fine metallic lustre ; 

 the green-backed golden pheasant ; and the cheer, or 

 Wallich's pheasant, a native of the Himalayas. That 

 gorgeous creature, the golden pheasant, has received 

 scant attention at the hands of sportsmen in this 

 country, few of whom have gone to the length of turning 

 it loose in their woods. If report speaks truly, golden 

 pheasants have thriven well and multiplied at a great 

 rate in at least one district in the United States. In 

 Oregon they extended themselves over a radius of 

 ninety miles from the turning-out point in the short 

 space of four years. Sportsmen there describe them as 

 being hardy and fairly easy of domestication, although 

 not quite so prolific in that country as are some others 

 of the pheasant family. 



An effort, happily attended by a considerable amount 

 of success, is now being made to establish the bar-tailed, 

 or Reeves' pheasant, P. reevesii, in various suitable 

 districts in England and Scotland. At Guisachan, in 

 Ross-shire, this bird has been turned down by Lord 

 Tweedmouth, and is reported to be doing well, the 

 rough character of the country exactly suiting its 

 requirements. At Balmacaan, on Loch Ness, Lord 

 Seafield has made similar experiments. In England, 



