THE GOLDEN PHEASANT. 115 



pattern of the mottling of the upper tail feathers, and in the general darker hue 

 of the females and young. 



One of the hest and most complete accounts of the habits and management 

 of this species in confinement is that written by Mr. W. Sinclaire, of Belfast, and 

 published in Thompson's " Natural History of Ireland." Mr. Sinclaire writes : — 



" Golden Pheasants are very easily reared in confinement, and are quite as 

 hardy as any of the other pheasants, or as any of our domestic fowls; indeed, I 

 question if any of them are sooner able to provide a subsistence for themselves, or 

 to live independent of the parent bird. In the several years' experience I have 

 had in the rearing of these birds, I have considered them past all danger when, 

 they arrived at the age of three or four weeks ; in fact, at that age those which 

 I brought up in the garden began to leave the bantam hen which hatched them,^ 

 and take into the gooseberry bushes to perch at night; and very soon after into 

 the apple trees. I always observed that they roosted at the extremity of the 

 branches, where they were quite safe from the attacks of cats or other vermin. 

 This habit, together with their very early disposition to roost at night, leads me 

 to infer that their introduction into this country as a game bird would not be 

 difB.cult ; and that in our large demesnes, where protected from shooters, they 

 would become very numerous. But I should imagine that they would not answer 

 where the common pheasants were already introduced, as they are shy, timid birds, 

 and would be easily driven off by the other species. The individuals before referred 

 to, which were reared in the garden, consisted of a family of six ; they always 

 remained in the garden, where they were regularly fed, except at the commencement 

 of winter, when they ceased roosting in the apple trees, took to a belt of Scotch 

 firs which bounded the garden on one side, and roosted in them all the winter and 

 following spring. I have seen them sitting in the trees when the branches were 

 laden with snow, but they did not seem to suffer in the slightest degree from the 

 severity of winter. About the month of February they first began to wander from 

 the garden for short distances ; and as the spring advanced, finally disappeared, and 

 I never could hear of their being met with afterwards. 



" In rearing the young I found that the very best food for them, and of which 

 they were most fond, was the larvae of the bluebottle fly, with a quantity of which 

 I always was prepared prior to the young being hatched. I took care to have a 

 constant supply during the season by hanging a cow's liver over a barrel, in the 

 bottom of which was some bran or sawdust, into which the maggots dropped. A 

 fresh hver was hung up about once a week. In addition to these larvae, the 

 young were supplied with potatoes, alum curd,* groats, and Indian com meal, 

 when to be had ; this last I found they were very fond of, and it seemed to agree 



* Custard prepared as described at page 72 will be found far superior to curd. 



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