miiDS. 129 



the mixture is not barren,) there will be produced a species more 

 tame, stronger, and more prolific ; so that he adds, th;it it is 

 strange why most of our pheasantries are not stocked with birds 

 produced in this manner. 



Tlie pheasant, when full grown, seems to feed indifferently 

 upon every thing that offers. It is said by a French writer, that 

 one of the king's sportsmen shooting at a parcel of crows, that 

 were gathered round a dead carcase, to his great surprise upon 

 coming up, found that he had killed as many pheasants as crows. 

 It is even asserted by some, that such is the carnivorous disposi- 

 tion of this bird, that when several of them are put together in 

 the same yard, if one of them happens to fall sick, or seems to 

 be pining, that all the rest will fall upon, kill, and devour it. 

 Such is the language of books ; those who have frequent oppor- 

 tunities of examining the manners of the bird itself, know what 

 credit ought to be given to such an account. 



Of the pheasant, as of all other domestic fowl, there are many 

 varieties. There are white pheasants, crested pheasants, spot- 

 ted pheasants; but of all others, the golden pheasant of China is 

 the most beautiful. * It is a doubt whether the peacock itself 

 can bear the comparison. However, the natives of China would 

 not have us consider it as their most beautiful binl, though cover- 

 ed all over with eyes, resembling in miniature those of the pea- 

 cock. By their accounts, it is far exceeded by the fongwang, 

 an imaginary bird, of which they give a most fantastic descrip- 

 tion. It is thus that the people of every country, though pos- 

 sessed of the greatest advantages, have still others that they 

 would persuade strangers they enjoy, which have existence only 

 in the imagination. 



CHAP. VL 



THE PINTADO, OR GUINEA-HEN. 



This is a very remarkable bird, and in some measure unites 

 the characteristics of the pheasant and the turkey. It has the 



« Owing to the prohibitory laws of China, it was long extremely difli. 

 cult to obtain living specimens of this bird ; and it was, in consequence, a 

 desideratum iu European aviaries ; it is uuw, however, common enough iu 

 Europe. 



