THE SILVER PHEASANT. 2.',7 



more determined or courageous in his behaviour ; and the 

 sharp spurs with which this species is armed render his 

 assault a thing to be avoided^ as lie would fly at the face of 

 the intruder on his domain. 



Silver Pheasants can bo easily domesticated and reared 

 among the other denizens uf the poultry yard, but in such 

 circumstances they generally escape into the coverts and 

 become wild, under which c<.>n<litions the}' breed freely. They 

 are not, however, desirable additions, either to our limited 

 stock of game birds, (jr, though exceedingly ornamental, to 

 our very restricted number of domestic poultry, inasmuch as 

 they are exceedingly pugnacious, driving away all the true 

 pheasants from the preserves, fighting with the fowls, killing 

 the young chickens in the poultry yard, and not hesitating 

 to attack dogs, children, and even growu-up persons during 

 the breeding season. When wild they are flushed with 

 difficulty, and on the wing they have been rightly charac- 

 terised as being most unsatisfactory from a sporting point of 

 view, flying dangerously low, in a horizontal direction, and 

 but a few feet frcnn the ground. 



With regard to their edil)lo qualities I cau speak very 

 positively, as 1 have had specimens that have been shot in the 

 ciiverts cooked like pheasants, and found them destitute of the 

 flavour of g;iine, and altogetlicr of very inferior (piality. The 

 desk was white and, although the birds had been well hung, 

 exceedingly fii'm. 



A correspondent informs mo that he has " rearcil several 

 iSilver Pheasants in confinement, and has turned them out 

 about the grounds, d'lie males are exceedingly tame, but also 

 exceedingly dangerous, hast year 1 had a lovely specimen, 

 which used to feed at the window of the breakfast-room with 

 the peafowl and otlier birds, aiul even knock at the glass and 

 make its way into the room. Put in the spring, when hatching 

 was going on, ho attacked ladies and children in the most 

 determined manner, always flying at the face. He would 

 dodge people walking, and make his appearance from under 



