186 PHEASANTS FOB COVERTS AND AVIARIES. 



went to the annual covert shoot at Gruisachanj Lord Tweed- 

 mouth's beautiful seat, near Beauly^ in Ross-shire, and it was 

 there, amidst the wildest and shaggiest of Scotch scenery — 

 in country which must to a great extent resemble the true 

 home of the bird in question — that I had cause to alter mj 

 opinion. 



"In one high wood of old Scotch firs, on a steep and 

 broken hillside above the waterfall, the sight of these birds 

 coming along only just within gunshot, in company with 

 common pheasants and blackcocks, I shall never forget. I 

 say, ' in company with,' but, as a matter of fact, as soon as one 

 of the long-tailed sky-rockets cleared the trees, he left the 

 others far behind, and came forward at a pace which was little 

 short of terrific. I doubt if any bird of the genus goes 

 faster. 



" Now this is all that the sportsman wants. Here we have 

 a bird of unrivalled beauty, great hardihood, and unequalled 

 pace, which practically fulfils all the conditions which the 

 modern shooter requires. The only other condition which is 

 absolutely essential to make the bird a success from this point 

 of view is its local environment. In this respect Gruisachan is 

 not singular, and I could name a hundred localities in Scot- 

 land, England, and Wales where Reeves's pheasant would be 

 certain to succeed. 



"The Guisachan birds were obtained by the late Lord 

 Tweedmouth from Balmacaan, the late Lord Seafield's estate 

 near Loch Ness, where I have also seen them shot. No 

 artificial rearing was resorted to ; the birds were breeding in 

 a wild state, and shifting entirely for themselves, except for 

 the maize which was put down for the ordinary pheasants. At 

 Balmacaan, where the birds were in low open woods, one may 

 see Reeves's pheasants killed in the way in which they should 

 not be. Here these birds (as is the case when turned down 

 on any ordinary English preserve) have formed most un- 

 desirable habits. It is with great diflSculty they can be got 

 to rise at all, and when this is effected they keep low, and 



