268 PHEASANTS 



in an hour and a half's work. Still, there had been one 

 other fish, a fine fellow that flashed up at the fly in the 

 Straik within three yards of my feet, and missing it, 

 refused repeated invitations to return. Unquiet fancy 

 pictured him the best of the lot. 



LXV 

 Familiarity has borne its proverbial fruit in respect to 



a very gorgeous family of birds. An ancient 

 Pheasants _ .. . , ., , 



Persian story tells how a philosopher was 



brought before the Shah, who, nettled by the indifference 

 he showed to the splendours of court and palace, asked 

 him whether he could imagine greater magnificence. ' I 

 have seen the plumage of the pheasant,' was the wise 

 man's disappointing reply. Well, everybody has seen the 

 plumage of the pheasant, but comparatively few are 

 familiar with it at its best. In the first place, of the 

 tens of thousands of cock pheasants which may be seen 

 hanging in poulterers' shops during the winter months, 

 only a very small percentage are birds more than a few 

 months old ; and birds of fine feather require two or three 

 seasons' growth to perfect their display. Secondly, the 

 cock pheasant in winter dress is not nearly such a 

 splendid creature as he is when he goes a-courting in 

 spring. At that season the plumage acquires extra- 

 ordinary lustre, reflecting purple, green, and golden 

 lights; the ear coverts develop into conspicuous crests, 

 and the naked skin around the eyes, showing as a mere 

 scarlet spot in winter, becomes inflated so as to cover the 

 whole side of the face, rising into a glowing comb above 

 and drooping as a rounded wattle below. 



