44 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



in places where there was only a solitary cock-bird fifty 

 years ago, there are now hundreds." And the spread of 

 the fashion has, in some places, quite changed the face of 

 the country. For Pheasants must have " cover," and, to 

 give them such, " hundreds of thousands of acres " of what 

 before was bare open country have been planted with 

 belts of trees and little spinneys just large enough to 

 give the long-tails a refuge and a roosting-place. 



"All that Pheasants ask," says a contributor to the 

 Spectator, " is quiet. If not chased by dogs or disturbed, 

 they will feed almost up to the horses in the ploughs, or 

 on the lawns of houses." He gives a pretty picture of 

 these birds in the late September days, before the 

 shooting begins : " The scene in the green rides of woods 

 and around the edges of parks, under the oaks where 

 the acorns are lying, is singularly beautiful. The cock 

 Pheasants are the boldest, feeding and scratching in the 

 turf, pecking late blackberries from the brambles on the 

 sides of the ride, or scratching up the leaves in their 

 quiet busy hunt for food. 



" Before dusk — for they are early birds — they begin to 

 think of flying up to roost. Soon, on every side, from the 

 woods, across the valleys, and even from the shrubberies 

 near the house, the whirring flight of the ascending birds 

 is heard. Every cock crows a challenge to his neighbour, 

 or, if taking a lengthened flight, utters his challenge again 

 and again as he hurtles through the air to the cover." 



He is, in truth, a most handsome fellow, this cock 

 Pheasant. His shining brown plumage, brightening into 

 rich colours on head and neck, gives an added glory to 

 the autumn woods. And how the hues blend and 

 harmonise with the russets and the reds of the 

 September leaves ! 



