THE PHEASANT FAMILY 11 



of torquatus — and nothing but his pro- 

 hibitive cost under existing conditions 

 rules him out of the count of our desirable 

 game birds. 



The five which have established firm 

 foothold in our coverts are the Common, 

 Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian and Prince 

 of Wales pheasants, to which short list of 

 true green-headed pheasants there should 

 be added the white-polled Reeves. 



The tale is then complete ; there are 

 many other ornamental species which may 

 serve to grace our parks and shrubberies 

 with the brilliance of their exotic plumage, 

 but the half-dozen mentioned above can 

 alone be considered of any value for sport. 

 It has indeed been customary of late for 

 writers on the subject to include several 

 other pheasants among those suitable for 

 game coverts as opposed to birds only 

 fitted for the aviary ; and in at least one 

 standard work, compiled and edited by 

 some of the leading authorities of the 

 day,^ there may be found quite a consider- 



' The Encyclopedia of Sport. 



