394 BRITISH BIEDS, 



In England it is found from Yorkshire and Derbyshire down 

 the Pennine Eange as far as the Trent; it is also found in 

 Staffordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, and on many 

 of the Welsh moors, especially in Merionethshire. It was in- 

 troduced on Dartmoor and the Surrey heaths, but soon died 

 out. They pair early in spring, making a rough nest near a 

 tuft of heather. Young and old feed on the tips of the ling 

 heather, and on bilberries, &c. This bird is much subject to 

 diseases of various kinds. 



The Blackcock {T. tetvij:) is found on Exmoor and in South 

 Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wilts, &c. Farther north and in 

 Scotland it is abundant. Blackcocks are polygamous, but 

 separate from the females, the "Grey-hens," for a short time 

 in the autumn. 



The Capercaillie {T. urogallus) or Wood Grouse became ex- 

 tinct in England and Wales, and also in Scotland, towards the 

 end of last century. It has been reintroduced into Scotland, 

 and has spread from the pine to oak and other woods, being 

 especially abundant in Perthshire. 



The Pheamnt (P. colehicus) is a native of Asia, probably 

 having been imported by the Greeks into Europe from the 

 banks of the Golchian Phasis, the modern Eion, which enters 

 the Black Sea : certain authorities say it was introduced from 

 some of the Asiatic islands. It is also abundant in the Caucasus, 

 the Sea of Aral, and the Caspian Sea, and is said to occur in 

 its wild state in Central Europe. Erom what we can gather, 

 it was well known to the Athenians soon after 1200 b.c. From 

 Greece it was transported to Eome. It was not until after the 

 Crusades that it became familiar in England. But there is 

 evidence that the pheasant was naturalised in the south of 

 England before the Xorman invasion. At the end of the last 

 century the Chinese Einged-neck Pheasant (P. torquatw-i) was 

 introduced : this has bred with the original species to such an 

 extent that we seldom get a pure-bred P. coh-hicm now, there 

 being nearly always a trace of the white ring. The crow of the 



