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PHEASANT.— P7tfwid)iMS ColcUcas. 



degree artificially kept up by the hatching of Pheasant's eggs under domestic hens, and 

 feeding them in the coop like ordinary chickens, until they are old and strong enough to 

 get their own living. 



The food of this bird is extremely varied. When young it is generally fed on ants' 

 eggs, maggots, grits, and similar food, but when it is fully grown it is possessed of an 

 accommodating appetite, and will eat many kinds of seeds, roots, and leaves. The tubers of 

 the common buttercup form a considerable item in its diet, and the bird will also eat 

 beans, peas, acorns, berries of various kinds, and h^s even been known to eat the ivy leaf 

 as well as the berry, 



■ The Pheasant is a ground-loving bird, running with great speed, and always preferring 

 to trust to its legs rather than its wings. It is a crafty creature, and when alarmed, 

 instead of rising on the wing, it slips quietly out of sight behind a bush or through a 

 hedge, and then runs away with astonishing rapidity, always remaining under cover until 

 it reaches some spot where it deems itself to be safe. The male Pheasant is not in the 

 least given to the domestic affections, passing a kind of independent existence during 

 part of the year, and associating with others of its own sex during the rest of the season. 

 It is a very combative bird, and can maintain a stout fight even with a barn-door cock. 

 When the two fight, an event of no very unfrequent occurrence, the Pheasant often gets 

 the better of the combat by his irregular mode of proceeding. After making two or three 

 strokes, up goes the Pheasant into a tree to breathe awhile, leaving the cock looking about 

 for his antagonist. Presently, while his opponent is still bewildered, down comes the 

 Pheasant again, makes another stroke and retires to his branch. The cock gets so puzzled 

 at this mode of fighting that he often yields the point. 

 2. K R 



