PHEASANT SHOOTING. 231 



bird. During the day he trusts more to his legs than his wings, 

 but his habit of roosting among the trees makes him a 

 conspicuous object, and an easy prey to the poacher on moon- 

 light nights. The ingenious dodge devised by Mr. Waterton for 

 the deception of these gentry, and the preservation of his birds, 

 by having wooden pheasants nailed on to the boughs of his trees, 

 is well known. 



Among other varieties, the Golden, Silver, and Reed's 

 Pheasants have been also introduced, with more or less success, 

 on some of the great sporting estates in England. The last-named 

 is, perhaps, the handsomest bird of his handsome race ; the body 

 no larger than that of the Common Pheasant, a cock in full 

 plumage yet measures 8 feet from head to tip of the tail-feathers, 

 which are themselves 6 or 7 feet in length, and beautifully marked. 

 Reeve's Pheasant, or, as it is called in France, le faisan revere, 

 will more readily take to wing than most of his kind, and although 

 so splendid and highly-coloured, is a hardy bird, his home being 

 among the snow-clad mountains of Surinagar and in Northern 

 China. 



Both the Golden and the Silver Pheasants are also natives of 

 the last-named country, in which the former especially is held in 

 great esteem, not only for his elegance of form and splendid 

 plumage, but also for his delicacy of flavour, which surpasses that 

 of the Common variety. It is hardly necessary to remark upon 

 the value of the plumage of this gorgeous and very beautiful bird 

 to the salmon fly-fisher, who greatly prizes his crest, neck, and tail- 

 feathers. 



The Silver Pheasant is a much larger and more powerful bird, 

 and like his Golden brother has become an inhabitant of a good 



