Powers of Flight. 11 



quills being nearly as long as the primary, they are rounded 

 in form, the third and fourth primary feathers being the 

 longest. The comparatively small size of the wings necessi- 

 tates their being moved with great force and velocity, conse- 

 quently the moving powers or muscles of the breast are very 

 large and well developed, taking their origin from the deep 

 keel on the breast bone. The wings are not adapted to a very 

 prolonged flight, although the denizens of the wilder districts 

 in the country fly with a speed and cover distances that are 

 unknown to the over-fattened birds in our preserves. Long 

 flights are, however, not altogether beyond the powers of 

 the bird. One of unusual length was recorded by the late 

 Mr. J. Cordeaux, of Ulceby, who states that " when 

 shooting in the marshes on the Lincolnshire side of the 

 Humber, near Grimsby, a man who works on the sea embank- 

 ment came to say that two pheasants had just flown over from 

 the Yorkshire side, alighting within a few feet of where he 

 was working among the rough grass on the bank. On going 

 to the spot indicated, I at once found and shot them ; they 

 were both hens, and in very good condition. The Humber 

 at this place from shore to shore is nearly four miles across. 

 There was a strong northerly breeze blowing at the time, so 

 that they would cross before the wind, or with the wind a 

 little aslant. I have occasional^ found pheasants in the 

 marshes, and near the embankment, which I was sure must 

 have come across, but had no direct evidence of the fact." 

 That they are not always capable of long-sustained flights, 

 however, is proved by Mr. J. G. Millais, who, in 1891, saw five 

 or six attempt to cross Loch Ness at Foyers, where it is more 

 than a mile wide. They fell into the water when about three- 

 parts of the way across. 



The pheasant, like most of its Congeners, is a terrestrial 

 bird, seeking its food, making its nest, and rearing its young 

 upon the surface of the ground. Its legs, Hke those of all 

 true rasorial or scratching birds, are strong and muscular, 

 consequently it is capable of running with great speed. The 



