170 , PHEASANTS FOB COVEBTS AND AVIARIES. 



Elliot's monograplij says: "Amongst tlie Phasianidee some 

 species are remarkable for their pugnacious and fierce dis- 

 positions ; not only the males^ but frequently the females 

 destroy each other. The want of sufiicient space and means 

 of escape among bushes, shrubs, and trees is no doubt the 

 cause of many females being killed when kept in confinement ; 

 and this serious misfortune is unhappily of no rare occurrence. 

 After the cost and trouble of obtaining pairs of these beautif q1 

 birds, and they have recovered from their long confinement 

 on the voyage, their owner is desirous of reaping a reward 

 by obtaining an abundant supply of eggs as the birds 

 approach the breeding season, when, alas ! he finds that some 

 disturbance has occurred, the place is filled with feathers, 

 and the female bird, from which he expected so much, is 

 found dead or dying, her head scalped, her eyes picked out, 

 or some other serious injury afflicted. I have found some 

 species more inclined to this cruel practice than others, 

 the worst, according to my experience, being the P. scem- 

 merringii." Mr. Elliot justly remarks that this is a sad 

 account of such a beautiful bird, and he also suggests the 

 right remedy when he states that doubtless this evil could 

 be abolished by planting thick clumps of bushes in their 

 inclosure, into which the hens could retreat and escape from 

 the persecution of the males ; if kept in large inclosures 

 covered with shrubs, and filled with growing grass, there 

 should be no difficulty in rearing these birds, especially if a 

 due supply of fresh vegetable food be daily given. 



Our knowledge of the habits of this magnificent bird in 

 its native state is very limited. The best account which has 

 been published is in Commodore Perry's " Japan Expedition " 

 — one of those magnificent and expensive scientific works so 

 liberally published by the American Government. Commodore 

 Perry writes : 



" This is undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the true 

 pheasants, and will compare in richness and brilliancy of 

 colour with almost any other species of bird. In the adult 



