THE PHEASANT OF THE WOODLANDS 31 



laid by a single hen pheasant. One Russian sports- 

 man says that the bird lays from twelve to twenty-four 

 eggs. A second considers that a clutch of pheasant 

 eggs varies from twelve to twenty. The third remarks 

 that he can personally vouch for a hen laying fifteen 

 eggs. Mr. Djanaschvili says that the number of eggs 

 varies from ten to fifteen. This latter is in harmony 

 with my experience, and we may safely infer that, 

 when more than fifteen eggs are found in one nest, 

 two hen pheasants have probably laid together. 

 There is nothing surprising in their doing so. Any 

 Highland keeper would tell you that the pheasant 

 often lays along with other birds, such as the part- 

 ridge, grouse, grey hen, capercailzie, and landrail ; 

 sometimes her eggs are found with those of the wild 

 duck and woodcock. This phenomenon occurs pretty 

 frequently ; Mr. Yuille states that he has ' seen young 

 pheasants hatched and reared by grouse, in company 

 with their own young, and they grew up to maturity.' 

 Mr. Djanaschvili thinks that eggs are rarely addled, 

 but in my experience they are often unfertile. 

 And this reminds me of an amusing incident that 

 happened a few years ago. I was staying at a village 

 inn in the Rhine country, when a Frenchman who 

 leased the shootings in the neighbourhood unex- 

 pectedly arrived to see how his keepers were succeed- 



