30 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



too much exposed to the heat of the sun, and that shrubs were grown in the aviary to 

 allow their hiding when frightened." 



P6re David writes (" Oiseaux de la Chine," 1877, P- 4^6) : '' Le Faisan de Lady 

 Amherst lives throughout the year on the highest of the wooded mountains at the west 

 of Setchuan, of Yunnan, of Kouy-cheou and the highest mountains of eastern Tibet. 

 It affects particularly the tangled masses of bamboo which grow at an altitude of six to 

 nine thousand feet, the buds of which constitute its favourite food ; it is from this that 

 the Chinese name Sdng-ky (Fowl of the buds) has been derived. Caught while young, 

 it is easily reared and breeds readily in captivity, as one may assure one's self by the 

 experiments made at the college at Moupin. It is a strong bird, which cares nothing 

 for cold or snow, and accommodates itself to all sorts of food, like our domestic fowl. 

 In the wild state it is very jealous and will not allow the golden pheasant, which is the 

 only one able to compete with it, to approach the spot where it is established ; also one 

 never meets these two brilliantly coloured pheasants on the same mountain or in the 

 same valley." 



Although the Amherst Pheasant is hardy, and able to live in regions where snow 

 falls throughout the winter, yet in all the places in Yunnan where I have observed these 

 birds or have been able to get reliable information I have found that they show an 

 appreciable migration. They either shift downward from the heights into more sheltered 

 valleys or move southward along a ridge to some southern exposure. It is certainly 

 lack of proper food, and not desire for shelter, which prompts such movements, as these 

 pheasants can stand almost any climate, however rigorous. 



On two different occasions I have seen a cock in the company of two hens, which 

 would suggest that these birds may be polygamous, but I am inclined to think that 

 ordinarily they associate in pairs. In the autumn several families collect in a flock and 

 remain together throughout the winter. At this season the young, being in the garb of 

 the female, give the impression of a great preponderance of hen birds. The succeeding 

 year the young males and females seem to live solitary lives, as, when one of these is 

 trapped, it is not often that another bird of the same age is caught for some time or in 

 the immediate vicinity. The autumn flocks are augmented by these second-year birds, 

 sadly depleted in numbers, however, as their enemies must exact a heavy toll from 

 their inexperience throughout the year and a half before they reach full strength and 

 plumage. 



Judging from the numbers of birds snared and shot by the Chinese I should think 

 that the Amherst was much rarer than the golden. It resembles the latter in many 

 particulars, such as its choice of haunts, voice, courtship and general diet, and indeed 

 much of the account which I have given of the golden would apply without alteration to 

 the present species. 



The Amherst seems to take to wing much more readily than its relative, and I have 

 put up several birds when alone by coming upon them suddenly, when it would be 

 probable that a golden would have escaped on foot. This habit, however, is possibly 

 dependent on other things, such as the character of the surroundings. Birds which live 

 among more or less open bamboo scrub are much more likely to rise readily than those 

 which live in high, dense forest. This is borne out by the experience of a sportsman 

 who has hunted the Amherst Pheasant in Yunnan. (Davies, " Ibis," 1901, p. 408.) He 



