REEVES'S PHEASANT 151 



Marco Polo's brief reference, it was living in the aviary of an Englishman, Mr. Beale, 

 at Macao, near Hong-Kong. 



A traveller (Bennett, "Wanderings in New South Wales ") who visited Macao at 

 this time, writes as follows : " In Mr. Beale's splendid aviary and garden at Macao the 

 beautiful P. venerahts of Temminck, the P, reevesii of Gray, now commonly known by 

 the name of the Reeves's Pheasant, was seen. It is the Chee-kai of the Chinese. 



''Mr. Beale's first specimen, obtained in 1808, was kept in a healthy state for 

 thirteen years ; after its death he endeavoured to procure others, but did not succeed 

 until 1 83 1, when four specimens were brought from the interior of China, and purchased 

 by him for one hundred and thirty dollars ; these were, I believe, taken to England 

 subsequently by Mr. Reeves." 



It seems, however, that Mr. Reeves brought only a single male in 1831, and seven 

 years later his son introduced a female, both birds living in the Zoological Gardens in 

 London at the same time. The male was apparently too old to breed. After some 

 hybrids were reared from the female, she died in 1840. 



The ultimate successful introduction of Reeves's Pheasant into England was due to 

 Messrs. Stone and Medhurst, the latter being Consul at Hankow. It was very difficult 

 at first to obtain specimens, and for years efi'orts were made in vain to locate living birds 

 among the Chinese of northern China. Medhurst, however, with his thorough know- 

 ledge of the language, at last made certain of the range of this species, and success was 

 attained when an experienced Chinese collector, armed with coloured drawings of the 

 birds, was sent into the field. 



Even then ill-luck attended the attempt, and only a single male bird survived from 

 the first three lots sent home, the remainder all dying before they reached England. 

 This cock lived three months. Of the fourth lot sent from Hankow, seven birds reached 

 the London Zoological Gardens, and since then Reeves in fair numbers have almost 

 always been obtainable from dealers. 



They have bred freely in England, France and Germany, both in aviaries and at 

 large. The species is well established in the former country, and specimens are often 

 seen for sale in the markets, together with the Japanese and ring-necked pheasants. 

 The first record of breeding in the London Gardens was in 1867, when the pheasants 

 began laying immediately upon arrival, late in June, and four young birds were hatched 

 in August. 



Owing to the fact that only certain localities, rugged, broken, mountainous country, 

 are adapted for the successful acclimatization and shooting of this splendid bird, it 

 cannot compare with the success of the ring-neck as an introduced species in Europe. 

 Millais has given an excellent summary ('' Natural History of British Game-birds," 1909) 

 of the present status of Reeves's Pheasant in England. He says that it is "of such a 

 warlike disposition in spring that all other pheasants quickly give it a wide berth, and if 

 the coverts are small it will soon drive away its more peaceful neighbours. Armed with 

 spurs of unusual length and sharpness, the cock Reeves's Pheasant is a dangerous bird, 

 even to its own species. I once saw a cock, in the late Mr. Cholmondeley's aviaries at 

 Condover, kill three hens, which had been procured from China at great expense, in as 

 many minutes. Two were struck dead instantaneously, a spur entering the back of the 

 neck, whilst the third was cut open down the back in such a way that it had to be 



