36 Distribution. 



man, following up his dog at a ' running point,' is suddenly 

 startled by. the whirr of a noble ' long tail,' when never 

 dreaming of any larger game than rails or water-hens." 



In Scotland it is now very generally distributed in the 

 western counties, from Wigtown in the south to Sutherland 

 in the north. Mr. E. Gray writes : " In the neighbourhood 

 of Loch Lomond it may occasionally be noticed on the 

 mountain sides, at a considerable elevation, sometimes 

 as far up as twelve hundred feet. In Shemore Glen I have 

 seen male birds rise from the heath among the rocks, 

 and, wheeling round, direct their flight down the valley 

 with extraordinary speed. Very different indeed is the 

 flight of these strong-winged natives of the glen from 

 that of overfed birds in wooded preserves ; and as one 

 bird after another shoots past in high air, one can hardly 

 resist the impression that, if left to its own selection, the 

 pheasant would adapt itself wonderfully to the drawbacks 

 of its adopted country. Mr. Elwes informs me that he has 

 frequently seen pheasants in Islay get up in the most unhkely 

 places, such as an open moor, miles away from any covert or 

 cornfield, and sometimes in a wet bog, where one would be 

 more likely to find a snipe. On that island, where it was 

 introduced about thirty years ago by Mr. Campbell, the 

 pheasant is now not uncommon, and appears to be on the 

 increase. In the outer Hebrides it has likewise been 

 introduced into Lewis by Sir James Matheson, who has 

 obligingly informed me that, since its introduction twelve or 

 fifteen years ago, it has become fairly estabhshed, although it 

 has not increased to the extent that might have been expected 

 in a more favourable locality. ' The deep drains in the peat 

 moss,' writes Sir James, ' are supposed to be the cause of the 

 death of the young chicks by their falling into them. For some 

 years at first there was a want of covert for pheasants, but they 

 are now better off in this respect, and are increasing gradually. 

 Some of the first brood wandered about sixteen miles to the 

 west side of the island, it is supposed in quest of covert.' " 



