THE GOLDEN PHEASANT. 115 
pattern of the mottling of the upper tail feathers, and in the general darker hue 
of the females and young. 
One of the best and most complete accounts of the habits and management 
of this species in confinement is that written by Mr. W. Sinclaire, of Belfast, and 
published in Thompson’s “ Natural History of Ireland.” Mr. Sinclaire writes :— 
“Golden Pheasants are very easily reared in confinement, and are quite as 
hardy as any of the other pheasants, or as any of our domestic fowls; indeed, I 
question if any of them are sooner able to provide a subsistence for themselves, or 
to live independent of the parent bird. In the several years’ experience I have 
‘had in the rearing of these birds, I have considered them past all danger when 
they arrived at the age of three or four weeks; in fact, at that age those which 
I brought up in the garden began to leave the bantam hen which hatched them, 
and take into the gooseberry bushes to perch at night; and very soon after into 
the apple trees. I always observed that they roosted at the extremity of the 
branches, where they were quite safe from the attacks of cats or other vermin. 
This habit, together with their very early disposition to roost at night, leads me 
to infer that their introduction into this country as a game bird would not be 
difficult; and that in our large demesnes, where protected from shooters, they 
would become very numerous. But I should imagine that they would not answer 
where the common pheasants were already introduced, as they are shy, timid birds, 
and would be easily driven off by the other species. The individuals before referred 
to, which were reared in the garden, consisted of a family of six; they always 
remained in the garden, where they were regularly fed, except at the commencement 
of winter, when they ceased roosting in the apple trees, took to a belt of Scotch 
firs which bounded the garden on one side, and roosted in them all the winter and 
following spring. I have seen them sitting in the trees when the branches were 
laden with snow, but they did not seem to suffer in the slightest degree from the 
severity of winter. About the month of February they first began to wander from 
the garden for short distances; and as the spring advanced, finally disappeared, and 
I never could hear of their being met with afterwards. 
«In rearing the young I found that the very best food for them, and of which 
they were most fond, was the larvee of the bluebottle fly, with a quantity of which 
I always was prepared prior to the young being hatched. I took care to have a 
constant supply during the season by hanging a cow’s liver over a barrel, in the 
bottom of which was some bran or sawdust, into which the maggots dropped. <A 
fresh liver was hung up about once a week. In addition to these larve, the 
young were supplied with potatoes, alum curd,* groats, and Indian corn meal, 
when to be had; this last I found they were very fond of, and it seemed to agree 
* Custard prepared as described at page 72 will be found far superior to curd. 
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