TiiK iHKASAjfT.'J BY FIELD, WOOD, AND WATER. [the pueasaot. 



In Siberia, the pheasant is alaoabundaiit; and, 

 though not originally bcloiigini; to the Anu'ri- 

 can continent, has been iiitroiluoed to it. Tliey 

 are, however, not very well adajjted for moving 

 from place to place, on account of the short- 

 ness of their wings. From this cause, wo 

 are informed tliat they are kept in complete im- 

 prisonment in the Isolo ]\radre, in the L:igo 

 Maggiore, at Turin, as they are not able to 

 make their ilight over the lake. When they 

 make the attempt they generally perish. It is 

 stated by Sonnini, and other travellers, that 

 the pheasants of some of the northern islands 

 of the Archipelago, and which come thither 

 from the woods of Thessalia, are larger and 

 handsomer than those of other countries ; and 

 that it is a great source of amusement among 

 the Turks, to let birds of prey, which they 

 carry in their hands, fly at them. When the 

 pheasant takes its flight, the bird of prey, 

 which they let loose, hovers above it, and com- 

 pels it to perch on some tree. The former then 

 places itself on another branch, over the head of 

 the pheasant, and keeps it in such terror, that it 

 sufi'ers itself to be approached, and taken alive. 

 This fact, it is remarked by Sonnini, sufficiently 

 develops the mystery of fascination. 



As a bird for the table, the pheasant is ex- 

 tremely salutary. When ancient physicians 

 made comparisons as to the wholesomcuess of 

 any viands, the pheasant was always chosen as 

 the standard of excellence. The hens are the 

 most juicy, and, in every way, preferable to the 

 cocks ; still the true sportsman will never kill a 

 hen if he can help it. They are sweetest roasted ; 

 and the best mode of dressing a cock is to stuff" 

 him with the lean of the inside of a loin of beef 

 cut into pieces, the size of dice, and well sea- 

 soned. The gravy issuing from the beef grad- 

 ually diffuses itself over the flesh, and renders 

 it less dry and hard than it is when destitute 

 of this supply. 



Exclusive of the common pheasant, there are 

 six other varieties ; namely, the gold, the silver, 

 the ring-necks, the white, the pied, and the 

 Bohemian. 



That the ring-necked pheasant and the com- 

 mon pheasant interbreed has been denied, or at 

 least doubted, by several naturalists of note. 

 The ring pheasant, it is said, is a native of 

 China, where the common species are very 

 abundant ; but there is nothing to establish 



the fact that it interbreeds with the common 

 pheasant. The eggs of tho ringed bird are of 

 a pale-bluish colour, and marked with smaV 

 spots of a deeper tint ; whih^ those of the com- 

 mon pheasant are of an olivo white, and aro 

 destitute of any spots. In a wild state tho 

 ringed species aro uniforndy less in size than 

 tho common bird, both in length of body and 

 in tail. Tho head of the former is of a w hitiaU 

 fawn colour, tinted with bluish green; and 

 above each eye there aro two wiiite lines, which 

 constitute a sort of eyebrow. Tho marking in 

 the back of the ringed kind is different and 

 smaller; and the rump feathers display tho 

 same peculiar tints which the mixture of fawn 

 and greenish blue exhibits. But the most 

 distinctive mark of difference is, that tho white 

 ring is broadest upon the sides of tho neck — a 

 circumstance which cannot be overlooked in 

 considering this question of identity. The 

 female of the ringed pheasant is likewise less 

 than the female of the common kind, both in 

 size and in length of tail. The entire question, 

 however, of distinction, is not by any means 

 satisfactorily settled. Sir William Jardiue 

 5ay3— "The pheasant sometimes also crosses 

 w ith the domestic fowl. M. Temminck mentions 

 this as requiring great attention to accomplish ; 

 but, where poultry are kept upon the borders 

 of a wood abounding with pheasant:?, it occa- 

 sionally happens, and would do so more fre- 

 quently if favourable opportunities occurred. 

 A specimen in my own possession, exhibiting 

 all the mixed characters, was procured in a 

 wild state. M. Temminck also records a soli- 

 tary instance of a mule between the female 

 pheasant and male golden bird, which exhibited 

 a curious but splendid mixture; all his endea- 

 vours, however, to procure a second specimen 

 were ineffectual. The common pheasant also 

 breeds freely with the ringed bird, and the 

 offspring is productive. This has been con- 

 sidered by many as a proof that these two 

 birds were identical ; but, in the whole of this 

 order, and its corresponding one among quad- 

 rupeds, this law has a much more extended 

 modification, and can scarcely be taken as a 

 criterion, except in very opposite instances." 



The rearing and preserving of pheasants 

 forms an interesting branch of sporting science. 

 The bird being naturally strongly averse to 

 domestication, it is subjected to many casual- 



n \7 



