448 BRITISH BIRDS. 



is undoubtedly polygamous. It can scarcely be said to have a " laking- 

 place " like the Capercaillie or the Black Grouse ; hut during the pairing- 

 season the crow of the Pheasant may be heard continually in the morning 

 as he calls his hens around him. This cry is a long drawn-out kor-ork, 

 and is followed by a clapping of the wings; it is continually heard as the 

 birds are retiring to roost at nighty or if they are disturbed during their 

 slumbers. There seems to be some reason to believe that in his native 

 wilds the Pheasant pairs like most other birdsj and that his polygamous 

 habits have been acquired^ like those of the domestic Mallard^ since his 

 acclimatization in our parks and plantations. During the shooting-season 

 probably far more cocks are shot than hens^ and the inequality of numbers 

 of the sexes thus produced may have something to do with their habits in 

 this respect. In the wild state what little information there is to be found 

 on the subject points to the conclusion that .the Pheasant is monogamous. 

 Prjevalski says thai in Mongolia whenever he saw a family either of the 

 Ring-necked Pheasant or the ringless variety of the same species both 

 parents were always present, and the cock bird seemed to look as anxiously 

 after the young as the hen. It is said that even in this country the cock 

 bird is sometimes found upon the nest, and occasionally takes part in the 

 care of the young. The flight of the Pheasant is very quick, and performed 

 by rapid and incessant beats of its rounded wings. Its whirr as it rises is 

 particularly loud and startling as the bird tops the bushes, and threading 

 its way through the network of branches, hurries off to a place of safety. 



In the hot months of the year the Pheasant often seeks some bare sandy 

 spot where it dusts itself like a Lark ; and it also frequently drinks, the 

 presence of water being an important item in a good preserve. 



The inherent timidity which characterizes the Pheasant naturally causes 

 it to breed in localities where its privacy is not disturbed. Its favourite 

 breeding-grounds are in the deepest woods, plantations, and copses, in the 

 dense hedgerows, or even amongst the growing crops. In this country the 

 male birds separate late in March or very early in April, and crow, flap 

 their wings, and otherwise display their attractions; but upon their 

 pugnacity depends the annual possession of the females. Armed with 

 powerful weapons of offence, few birds fight so fiercely, the strongest 

 and most vigorous males often having six or eight females in their 

 harem, each of which is probably the trophy of a well-fought conflict. 

 After pairing- duties are over, the male bird keeps in company with 

 his mates until the eggs are deposited in April and May, when he 

 usually quits them for ever, and leaves them to bring up their families 

 alone. Each female makes her own nest, though it is not improbable, 

 where the eggs are large in number, that two birds lay in the same nest. 

 It is usually placed amongst fern, under brushwood and brambles, and 

 amongst the herbage in the fields and hedges. Sometimes the nest 



