MORE ABOUT GAME-BIRDS. 105 



— the white fur of the mountain-hare and the white 

 plumage of the ptarmigan. 



The nest of the common pheasant is only a slight 

 hollow made by the bird in the long grass, or under 

 some bush, and lined with leaves. The eggs are 

 from eight to ten in number, and they vary in col- 

 ouring, from greyish white with a green tinge, to 

 pale greyish brown. 



This bird is very generally supposed to have 

 reached us from the country which borders the 

 Phasis, one of the rivers of Colchis. Other closely 

 allied species which have been introduced from other 

 countries have bred freely with this ; and some very 

 beautiful birds, which are now called common 

 pheasants, are the result ; and these are spread 

 all over the country. The mixed breeds have 

 ousted the original type by this process, with the 

 result of perpetuating a far more beautiful race of 

 birds. The question of hybridity does not come 

 in here ; it has simply been the fusion of beautiful 

 varieties into one almost universal type, the pheasant 

 of the present time. 



That the common pheasant was naturalised in 



