PHOTOGRAVURE 14 



THE HAUNTS AND THE HUNTERS OF THE BROWN EARED-PHEASANT 



A THOUSAND photographs of the home of this bird would seem to be nothing more than pictures of 

 the same place. There is nothing more to be seen than coarse grass and straggling weeds, touched by 

 scattered flowers in the spring, and covered lightly by drifting snow in the early autumn. The bare rocks 

 are lichened and have become the colour of half-frozen soil. In such an environment the Eared- Pheasant 

 lives happily and holds its own even against the Chinese pot-hunter, the circling eagles and the stealthy 

 leopards. With antiquated gun but Oriental patience, the Mongol hunter pursues his game and never 

 misses. Only the vast extent of these desert regions and the wandering habits of the birds have saved them 

 from complete extinction. 



