404 



THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



RED COCHINS 



The ivings in the t\plcal Cochnn are i'> ^hort as to be useless 



some 



forty 



migration may be gathered from Canon Tris- 

 tram's statement that in Algeria, in April, he 

 found the ground covered with quails for an 

 extent of many acres at daybreak, where on the 

 preceding afternoon not one was to be seen. 

 These are the birds which were so eagerly seized 

 by the Israelites as a welcome change in the diet 

 which had become so monotonous in the days 

 of their early wanderings. The story, so vividly 

 told in the Book of Exodus, is, of course, 

 familiar to all. 



The quail lays from nine to fifteen eggs 

 in a feeble apology for a nest. It is said that 

 the curious metallic note " clic-lic-lic " gave 

 origin to the Spanish Castanet, for these birds 

 are much esteemed in Spain, being kept in 

 cages for the pleasure their notes aft'ord. 



There are five or six other species of quail 

 closely related to the above. The British bird 

 enjoys an enormous range, being found almost 

 everywhere in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The 

 species in number — are generally regarded as 



so-called AMERICAN OCAILS - 

 belonging to a distinct group. 



That ornament to all rural scenery, the Phea.saxt, is said to have been introduced from 

 the banks of the river Phasis, in Colchis, Transcaucasia, by the Romans — at least, the original 

 form of pheasant was. Late during the eighteenth century a Japanese and a Chinese form 

 were introduced, and these have freely interbred with the original form, so that pure bred 

 specimens of any of the three are rare. 



The speed of a pheasant on the wing in full flight has been estimated at thirty-eight 

 miles an hour. Occasionally pheasants will take to the water, and are said to swim well. 



The number of pheasants reared by hand at the present day is prodigious. In 18S3, 

 Professor Newton tells us, 134,000 pheasants' 

 eggs were sold from one estate in Norfolk, while 

 9,700 fully grown birds were killed upon it. In 

 olden times pheasants were taken in snares or 

 nets, by hawking, and by the cross-bow; but on 

 the introduction of guns these methods were 

 superseded. 



Yet another form of pheasant has been in- 

 troduced here of late years. This is Reeves's 

 PllEASAX'l", a truly magnificent bird, with a tail 

 fully 5 feet long in adult males. These birds 

 also interbreed with the more common forms, 

 but not freely. 



Beautiful as these pheasants undoubtedly 

 are, they are eclipsed by many of their relatives. 

 Among the most noteworthy of these we may 

 notice the magnificent Tk.vguI'.ANS. Rich in 

 coloratiou of the feathers, these birds have 

 added an additional feature in brilliantly coloured 

 areas of bare skin on the head and neck, which 

 are furthermore rendered conspicuous by being 



BROWN LEGHORN COCK 



This breed has been der'fvvd b\ crosufi^ IP'hi 

 Gamc-foivl 



'^egh 



