52 



FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



will occupy a territory that at the present time has but little to offer 

 in bird life. 



THE REEVES PHEASANT 



For a long time it was thought that the Reeves pheasant was 

 nothing more than an aviary bird and was chiefly prized for its long 

 tail and gold and black bodies. However, a closer study of the bird 



revealed all the traits of a real 



game bird, with a natural habitat 

 ranging from three to seven thou- 

 sand feet above sea level. While it 

 is a ground nester it is essentially 

 a tree bird and seeks the high trees 

 at night as a roosting place. On 

 the wing this bird takes second 

 place to none as it has been clocked 

 at eighty miles an hour in flight, 



Fig. 12. Reeves pheasants, powerful in flight and inhabiting- high timber brush 

 country, are being planted. This picture was made during a liberation at 

 the head of Santa Ana River. Three seconds of time between snaps. 



and attains this speed very quickly. When flushed from the ground it 

 goes straight up through the shrubbery or trees till well above them, 

 when it levels off with a tremendous burst of speed that carries it 

 across canyons or down the mountain side. 



THE RING-NECK AND MONGOLIAN PHEASANTS 



These birds have come to be known as the intimate companions of 

 man in all parts of the world. Their dependability through the repro- 

 ducing season is remarkable and under ordinary circumstances they 

 never fail. This trait alone endears them to sportsmen. Their habits 

 and ability to take care of themselves in the fields adds to their value 

 as a game bird. Checked in many states and from every angle, they 

 take first place in any scheme of restocking our valleys and agricul- 

 tural sections. The farmer has come to regard them as his friend and 

 ally in the control of insect pests. The ring-neck's natural habitat is 

 the cultivated valleys, or swampy lands that provide ground cover as 



