142


hither and thither all over the place, dropping them at the

farthest possible point.


I need now only add that more delightful pets than these

young Shanias could not be, flying after me everywhere, and

perching on me anywhere they could find a footing.



PHEASANTS.


By D. Seth-Smith.

f Co7ifinued from page i^oj.


In aviaries. Reeve's Pheasants become very tame and

familiar with those who habitually feed them. The hens lay

freely, and the eggs can be hatched under domestic hens, and

the young reared quite as easily as those of any of the other

Pheasants. Considering that a full grown cock of this species

carries a tail some five feet in length, the aviary in which these

birds are kept cannot very well be too large.


The genus Calophasis possesses but two species, Elliot's

(C. ellioti) and Hume's (C huinicB) ; the latter is unknown in

Kurope in a living state, but the former has, within the last few

years, been imported in some numbers, and has been bred by

amateurs, as well as at the " Zoo." KHiot's Pheasant is

indigenous to the province of Che-kiang, where it w^as discovered

by Consul Swinhoe, and was first brought to Kurope in 1879 by

Mr. Jamrach. In shape and manners this bird closely resembles

the true Pheasants, but it differs greatly in the form of its mark-

ings. In the male, the mantle, wings and breast are of a rich

bronze-red ; a band of purplish steel and two bands of pure

white cross the wings ; the underparts being chiefly pure

white, and the throat black.


The genus Chrysolophzis contains but two species, both of

which are of exceptional beauty and deservedly popular with

Pheasant keepers. The Golden Pheasant {C.pictus) is almost as

well known as the Common Pheasant, having been bred in

captivity in Europe from a very remote period. Its general

appearance is too familiar to need a detailed description here,

the rich red, gold and green of its plumage making it the most

gorgeous of all the known Pheasants. My experience of this

species is that the males are often exceedingly spiteful towards the

females, but this, alas, is a failing which most Pheasants sometimes

possess in captivity. I^ady Amherst's Pheasant (C amherstice) is



