88 THE DISEASES OF PHEASANTS. 



over and died. I directed the keeper to have one opened, and its crop was full 

 of the bloom which falls from the fir tree, a specimen of which I inclose. The 

 birds were immediately moved under young oak trees, and not a single bird has 

 failed since." The substances inclosed that had been taken from the crop of the 

 young pheasants were the male or false blossoms of some species of fir. These 

 blossoms consist of anthers only, and faU off when they have shed the poUen or 

 fine dust they contain. I regret that I was unable to ascertain the particular 

 species of fir under which the birds were placed. 



Another frequently unsuspected cause of death in pheasants is the habit they 

 acquire of picking up and swallowing shot when in coverts that are much shot 

 over. Mr. J. Hindle Calvert, P.O.S., made the following valuable communication 

 to the Field in 1876, and his inferences have been since amply confirmed by 

 myself and others who have made post-mortem examinations in similar cases. Mr. 

 Calvert wrote : — " The following cases of lead poisoning in pheasants may be of 

 interest to those who have large pheasant preserves. A gamekeeper brought me 

 for inspection a hen pheasant which was partially paralysed in the legs, and low 

 in condition. On killing the same and opening the gizzard I found thirteen 

 leaden pellets of various sizes ; the grinding action of the gizzard had disseminated 

 the lead with the food, and the bird was surely but safely undergoing the slow 

 process of lead-poisoning. This was very evident on applying the usual chemical 

 tests, as I readily detected lead dissolved in the food, and also traces in the blood 

 taken from the region of the heart. Two days after this the gamekeeper brought 

 another live bird. This one had been in a sickly condition for two or three weeks, 

 and was quite emaciated. The legs were paralysed, and the feet drawn in a similar 

 manner to the drop-hand, when lead has been the cause of poisoning in the 

 human subject. On opening the gizzard I found four peUets, so that there is little 

 doubt that this bird would soon have' died from the effects of lead-poisoning. 



"I understand last year some score of pheasants died in the same preserve, 

 all of them showing symptoms same as above related. Both years the poisoning 

 happened after the coverts had been shot through. No doubt the birds pick up 

 the pellets under the delusion of being either food or grains of sand; perhaps the 

 latter. When the birds died last year the cause of death was attributed to there 

 being too many left for breeding purposes ; rather a strange reason, seeing that the 

 birds had been decimated on the shooting day. 



" Others may have experienced something similar to the above, without being 

 able to give a satisfactory reason for the birds dying ; but where you have paralysed 

 Umbs and a gradual falling off in condition, and should this happen some weeks 

 after the covert has been shot through, then they may suspect that lead-pgisoning 

 is a probable cause." 



