204 Reeves's Pheasant. 



" In conclusion I should like to make one observation on 

 the flight of Eeeves's pheasant which I have never seen touched 

 on before, and which is both interesting and remarkable. 

 Eeeves's pheasant has the power to stop suddenly when 

 travelling at its full speed, which may be estimated at nearly 

 double that of an ordinary pheasant : and this is j)erformed 

 by an extraordinary movement when the bird makes up its 

 mind to alight on some high tree that has taken its fancy. 

 This bird may be said to be furnished with a ' Westinghouse 

 brake ' in the shape of its tail, otherwise the feat would be 

 impossible. By a sudden and complete turn of the body, 

 both the expanded wings and tail are presented as a resistance 

 to the air and the position of the bird is reversed. This acts 

 as an immediate bufTer and brake, and by this means the bird 

 is enabled to drop head downwards into the tree within the 

 short space of eight or ten yards." 



Lord Eavensworth, writing of the birds in Eoss-shire, 

 makes the following remarks on the habits of this species : 



" The Bar-tail is a true pheasant, well able to take care of 

 himself in any climate, at any altitude, and is more easily 

 reared than the common species. He is very shy and wild, 

 diflicult to approach, and takes to his legs long before other 

 pheasants are conscious of any danger. His flight is pro- 

 digiously rapid and straight, and he will travel thirty miles 

 on end, which, of course, is an objectionable practice, except 

 in such extensive forest grounds as the highlands of (Scotland 

 present. These pheasants travel in troops of fifteen to twenty, 

 and present a grand and bewildering effect when they rise in 

 such a company. Any attempt to walk up to them in brush 

 covert is utterly hopeless, for they are exceedingly vigilant 

 and go straight off like a dart, not more than six feet from 

 the ground, far out of reach." 



Mr. J. Mayes, head-keeper to the late Maharajah Duleep 

 Singh, writing from Elveden, in 1877, stated : " I have bred 

 the Eeeves's pheasant for the last five or six years, rearing 

 them by hand, and have had pretty good luck with them the 



