ANSERIFORMES 113 



the provincial district; and in 1874 they liberated four Chinese 

 pheasants at Wallacetown. 



Mr T. F. Cheeseman writing to me in August, 1915, says: 



Our pheasant is certainly the Chinese pheasant (P. torquatus) with a 

 slight admixture of the English pheasant (P. cokhicus) in the extreme 

 north of the provincial district. Such enormous numbers of the Chinese 

 pheasants were distributed from Auckland to other parts of the Colony 

 that I am inclined to doubt the existence of the pure English pheasant 

 in the wild state in New Zealand. 



There is no doubt that in 1871 pheasants of both species were 

 abundant all over New Zealand, but soon after their numbers began 

 to decrease. Many causes contributed to bring about this decrease, 

 which has continued ever since. The vast increase of the rabbit led 

 to the introduction of phosphorus poisoning, and the grain used 

 was freely eaten by the ground birds. The small birds introduced in 

 1867 and 1868 and subsequent years, soon increased to an extra- 

 ordinary extent and ate out the food supply, and lastly, about 1882, 

 the importation of stoats and weasels commenced. 



The Otago Society report in 1881 that pheasants are plentiful, 

 but much scattered, and "believed to have suffered greatly from 

 hawks and poisoned grain." In 1882 they "have become very scarce." 

 Poaching was considered to be the principal cause of decrease. In 

 1885 the "numbers are sadly reduced." In 1890 "pheasants are few 

 and far between"; and in 1892 "pheasants are few and far between, 

 it is very rare to see one." In the same report it is stated that there 

 is no prospect of being able to establish a supply of game, while the 

 present system of liberating stoats and weasels, and of rabbit poisoning 

 is being carried on. 



In the Wellington Society's report for 1885 we read: "The 

 number of these birds in this district has greatly decreased of late 

 years." In the Wairarapa district they are nearly extinct, "due to 

 poisoned grain, and the introduction of stoats, weasels and ferrets." 

 In 1888 "they do not seem to be increasing as they should." This 

 is attributed to vermin, poaching, wet weather during the nesting 

 season, and rabbit poisoning. 



Captain F. W. Hutton, writing me in 1890, said: "the pheasants 

 are dying off about Christchurch. This is probably due to failure of 

 food; they have killed off nearly all the grasshoppers." The failure 

 of food was the probable cause, but I think it was the starlings and 

 sparrows which mainly decimated the grasshoppers. 



Mr J. L. Watson, writing from Invercargill the same year, re- 

 marks : ' ' the pheasants became pretty numerous " (in Southland) , ' ' but 

 through poaching and poisoned grain, they are now exterminated." 



