194 PHEASANTS FOE COVERTS AND AVIARIES. 



them very uncertain hi.yers, although (uie season my Iumi birds 

 laid an avera.ge of twenty eggs apiece, from which a. very good 

 proportion of yonng hirds wvn- hatclu'il out. My impression 

 IS that, these birds lay Ijest — at all events in captivity — at 

 about their third or fourth year. My gamekeepei-, win.) has 

 had charge of them, assures nu) that the young birds are \-ery 

 hardy and I'asy to rear. I have in Xortham])tonshire (the 

 county in which I have tried these birds) no very large t-xteut 

 of woodlands of my own, and cannot therefore tell j'oii much 

 of their habits in a wild state, as they are ver}- much gi\-en to 

 ]-i.iannng to great distances, and a good many jiave fallen 

 victims in my neighbour's woods, Ijesides the large perc(_'ntage 

 that may be always allowed in a foxhunting countiy. 'J'hey 

 have certainly crcjssed, tliongh not aliundantly, with the 

 connnon pheasant. '_riie male hybrid of the lirst cross is a 

 most splendid bird. Reeves's pheasant is a very wild, shy 

 bird, verj' quick on the wnig, somewduit given to gi.i back if 

 possible, but i|uickly attains a good height in the air, giving 

 good rocketing shots. I found them most excellent tor the 

 talik — in my o[iinion far supei'ior to the common pheasant. 

 I believe, from wliat T have seen and heard of this species, 

 that for real success with tliem in this country a. wide range eif 

 hill (-(jverts ^\"ould be most eligifile. I Jielieve thrd Sir Dudley 

 Cuutts Mai-joribanks has had great success with lieeves's 

 yiheasants in Ross-shire. I am informed that as many as sixty 

 Reeves's have Ijeeii shot in these C(jverts in a single season." 



i''ifteen yea.rs after Loi'd kilford favLiuri'd me with the 

 above communication he ]iiiblished in " The I'inls of North- 

 ani])toushire " a further report on this species, iii which he 

 maintains its desirable cliaraeter as a game bird for ranges 

 of woodland m mountainous districts. His account is as 

 follows : 



•' Another most beautiful species, kncjwn as Reeves's or 

 the bar-tailed pheasant (/' reeccsi i) , though we have 

 found it hardy, easy t(j rear, and excellent for the table, our 

 opinion is that, as it possesses the roaming instinct in a still 



