The Mongolian Pheasant 



whitish on a mottled brownish ground. Adult male length 762 (30.00) or more, of 

 which more than 406.4 (16.00) is tail. 



Recognition Marks. — Size of domestic fowl. Long tail and white collar dis- 

 tinctive. 



Nesting. — Nest: On the ground, of dried leaves, grasses, etc., usually in grass 

 tussock or under bush. Eggs: 8 to 15; dark olive-buff, vinaceous buff, or isabella 

 color, unmarked. Av. size 40.9 x 33.3 (1.61 x 1. 31). Season: April-July; two or 

 three broods. 



General Range. — Native in eastern Asia from the valley of the Amur south to 

 Canton, China, and west through eastern Mongolia. Introduced and established in 

 the Pacific Coast region from British Columbia to northern California. 



Distribution in California. — Variously introduced in many widely separated 

 localities. Apparently well established in the northern humid coastal section and in 

 Owens Valley. Also, perhaps successfully, in Tulare, Kern, and Santa Clara counties. 



Authorities. — Belding, Land Birds Pac. Dist., 1890, p. 8 (Santa Cruz Co.); 

 C. II. Merriam, Ann. Rep. Dept. Agric, 1888, p. 484 (food) \Wall, Condor, vol. xvii., 

 I 9 I 5> P- 59 (San Bernardino; nest and eggs); Grinnell, Bryant and Storer, Game Birds 

 Calif., 1918, p. 30 (introduction in California); p. 572 (desc. habits, etc.). 



WITHOUT QUESTION the introduction of the "China" Pheasant 

 (Phasianus torquatus) to America in 1881 marked a new era in the game- 

 bird life of the Pacific Northwest. Credit for this shrewd move belongs to 

 Judge O. N. Denny of Oregon, then consul general at Shanghai; and the 

 bird is still called by many enthusiastic admirers the "Denny" Pheasant. 

 Linlike that of the English Sparrow, the outrageous profiteer of misguided 

 sentimentality, the importation of the Mongolian Pheasant had been most 

 carefully considered. Judge Denny studied the facts, and knew the high 

 reputation which the bird enjoyed in its native land, both as a table bird 

 and as an economic factor in the subjugation of insect pests. He knew, 

 too, the necessity of drawing lire from our harassed and over-hunted 

 native birds; and he knew the hardiness, adaptability, and fecundity of 

 this Chinese fowl. The experiment promised well, and was carried out, 

 therefore, with great care and diligence. The promise of these early ex- 

 periments has been fulfilled in every particular, not alone in western 

 Oregon but in Washington and British Columbia ; and the China Pheasants 

 are now so thoroughly established in the economic life of the Pacific North- 

 west that continued prosperity and usefulness is only a matter of sensible 

 regulation. But similar experiments persistently carried out in California 

 have been, to say the least, less successful. It has been found that the 

 Ring-necked Pheasant is subject to rather exacting climatic requirements. 

 The first requisite is humidity, and this is found to perfection only in our 

 northwestern coastal counties. Elsewhere the presence of abundant water 

 in swamps and flooded sections has measurably supplied the bird's 



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