099 PHEASANTS FOE COVERTS AND AVIARIES. 



were hatclicd, and until tliejr l^ecome acquainted with the 

 call of the hen. Wlien I first ljet;-an to rea,r young- ])lieasants 

 I could not at all account for ihoir seemingly foolish manner 

 for the first two or three days after being hatched; they 

 would I'uu ga[iing about without appearing to notice the Iieii 

 or her calls to tlieni to come for food. The reason of this I 

 afterwards believed to have been owing to their ignoi'auce of 

 the language of their foster-inother, which it took some time 

 for them to understand ; during this process it is necessary to 

 keep them confined within the frame before their coops, as, 

 were they to wander a few yards from the hen, they woidd 

 not heed her call, and would ineA'itably pei'ish. 



" When three or fonr weeks nld, it is necessary, if reared 

 for the aviary, to pinion them, which is dune Ijy cutting off 

 rather more than the first joint of the wing, having previously, 

 by means of a. needle and tliread, inserted close to the small 

 wiuo'-bone, and brouo'ht round the laro'e one, just within the 

 skin, taking up the main blo(jd vessels ; the ]jiece of the wing- 

 is then chop]ied off on a block. There is no loss of bilood, and 

 I never could observe that the birds seemed to suffer in the 

 slightest degree afterwards, although the operation 1 daresay 

 was pia.inful enough. My reason for takinir olf rather more 

 than the first joint of the wing was becau^^e 1 found that if 

 only the first joint was taken off, the birds were always able, 

 when grown u]i, to get <jut of the aviary, which was about 

 12ft. high, and I found it thus requisite to take off so much 

 iis to render them incapable of any attempt at flying; but 

 T left enough remaining to enable them to i-each their 

 rdosting-pjhice at night. I furnished them with a kind 

 of ladder by nailing cross-pieces of wood on a long piece 

 about 3in. wide, and wdiicli they very soon learned to walk 

 up and down with facility. One aviary in which I kepjt 

 some had a back wall to it covered with old ivy, and thev 

 preferred I'oosting in this ; indeed, I always found that, 

 although during a wet day those which were at liberty took 

 shelter under a roof, yet at night they would not do so, but 



