Family PHASIANID^. Genus Phasianus. 



Subfamily Phasianin^. 



PHEASANT. 



PHASIANUS COLCHICUS— Z/;7«««i-. 



Geographical Distribution.— ^^//zV/^ -• Probably intro- 

 duced into the British Islands by the Romans. Resident 

 throughout all parts of the country where it is preserved, even in 

 some of the wildest parts of the Outer Hebrides, the presence of 

 cover being all that is required in addition to artificial feeding 

 during severe weather. Foreign : Although introduced into most 

 parts of Europe (with the exception of Spain and Portugal), the 

 true habitat of this species is in Western Asia, in the western 

 basin of the Caspian Sea, and the southern and eastern basins of 

 the Black Sea, It is a resident in the valleys of the Caucasus up to 

 3,000 feet above sea-level, and inhabits the country along the 

 Caspian, from the Volga in the north to Asterabad on the southern 

 shore ; it lives in the northern districts of Asia Minor, south to 

 Ephesus, and is a resident on the island of Corsica. 



Allied Forms. — The various species and races which are 

 most closely allied to the Pheasant of Western Asia and Europe 

 (the typical English species) are by no means clearly defined, and 

 it is probable that further research may prove that several of 

 these forms are only the result of interbreeding. A table showing 

 their geographical distribution and points of distinction is inserted 

 at the end of the present chapter. 



Time during which the Pheasant may be taken.— 



October 1st to February ist. 



Habits. — The almost uninterrupted interbreeding which has 

 been going on between the Ring-necked Pheasant from China 

 and the typical Pheasant from Colchis for the past ninety years 

 has so far contaminated the original stock that few, if any, pure- 



