A HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE 



[The red grouse {Lagopus scoticus) is said to 

 have occurred on Dartmoor and at Stokenham 

 in the South Hams. Possibly stragglers may 

 have reached this county from south Wales. 

 About 1820 or 1825 several pairs of red grouse 

 were turned out on Exmoor, and the Devon- 

 shire examples (if they were really that species) 

 might have strayed from thence.] 



[The occurrence of the ptarmigan {L. mutus) 

 on Dartmoor is so very improbable that no 

 credence can be given to the statement made 

 by Dr. E. Moore in Rowe's Perambulation of 

 Dartmoor^ published in 1848, that a specimen 

 in summer plumage was shot there in the 

 month of October by Mr. Newton of Milla- 

 ton near Bridestowe.] 



194. Pheasant. Phasianus colchicus (Linn.) 



It is probable that the pheasant was- intro- 

 duced into Devonshire during the Roman 

 occupation, as a metatarsal bone of a gallin- 

 aceous bird, either a domestic cock or a cock 

 pheasant, was found amongst the bones de- 

 posited in the ancient camp on the summit of 

 Peak Hill near Sidrriouth, and a similar speci- 

 men is in the Exeter Museum from the Bench 

 Cavern near Brixham. In September 1625 

 it is recorded that at two banquets, provided 

 on the occasion of a visit from Charles I. to 

 Plymouth, amongst the poultry placed on the 

 tables were seven pheasants at the first and 

 five at the second. At the end of the eigh- 

 teenth century, according to Polwhele, the 

 pheasant had been almost annihilated in 

 Devonshire, but was beginning to increase 

 again where carefully preserved. Other 

 authorities state that pheasants were introduced 

 into Devonshire about that time. They were 

 probably the Chinese ring-necked pheasant 

 (P. torquatus), whose introduction to England 

 then began. By 1830 pheasants were com- 

 mon in the neighbourhood of Mamhead, 

 Kenn, and other preserves. The Duke of 

 Bedford and Sir W. P. Coll appear to have 

 introduced the ring-necked, as that species was 

 the most common in the extreme western 

 part of the county in 1832. It is now diffi- 

 cult to find a pure-bred ' red pheasant ' of the 

 old breed. Nearly all the birds in our pre- 

 serves are more or less marked with the white 

 collar round the neck. Another species, the 

 Japanese P. versicolor, has been occasionally 

 turned down, and will perhaps still further 

 modify the plumage of the Devonshire pheas- 

 ants. Many varieties occur ; white-tailed, 

 pied, mottled, and buff-coloured or 'Bohemian ' 

 are frequently met with, besides pure white 

 albinos. Hybrids between the pheasant and 

 black grouse have been already mentioned, 



and they have also occurred between the 

 domestic fowl and pheasant in the south- 

 western part of the county. 



195. Partridge. Perdix cinerea, Latham. 



Resident, generally distributed throughout 

 the county, excepting the wilder parts of 

 Dartmoor, and in some years fairly plentiful. 

 Bags of from fifty to sixty-five brace have 

 been made in both the north and south of the 

 county. White, cream-coloured, silvery grey 

 and buff-coloured varieties occur. Females 

 are frequently marked with a white 'horse- 

 shoe ' on the breast in the Kingsbridge dis- 

 trict. In the west of Devon a large dark 

 variety without the horse-shoe mark is met 

 with. The variety ferrugineus of Gould 

 has been obtained on several occasions near 

 Tavistock and Plymouth. 



196. Red-legged Partridge. Caccabis rufa 



(Linn.) 

 Locally, Frenchman. 



This handsome bird was first introduced 

 into Devonshire probably about 1840, and at 

 different times since then some have been 

 turned down in several parts of the county, 

 but although a few examples are met with 

 from time to time, it has never thoroughly 

 established itself, presumably owing to the 

 climate being unsuited to it. A hen bird was 

 seen to drop into the water when flying over 

 the Exe estuary from the Starcross side to- 

 wards Exmouth on 15 April 1892. She was 

 found to contain thirty well developed eggs. 

 The cock bird in company with her was 

 afterwards seen about the docks at Exmouth. 

 Strangely enough an exactly similar occurrence 

 took place in the spring of 1900, another 

 female full of eggs being picked up in the 

 river near Starcross in a dying state. A male 

 was found dead near Woodbury about the 

 same time. It is diificult to account for these 

 birds crossing the river in this manner, and it 

 is not known where they come from. 



197. Quail. Coturnix communis, Bonnaterre, 



A summer migrant of irregular appearance, 

 arriving in spring and frequently remaining 

 throughout the winter. A few generally 

 occur every year, but in a good ' quail year,' 

 such as 1870 and 1892, many visit us, and 

 numerous pairs breed in various parts of the 

 county, especially in the South Hams, and 

 formerly on Lundy Island. During the 

 autumnal migration in some years quails are 

 plentiful, both in north and south Devon. 

 At one time Lundy Island was annually 

 visited by them, and good bags have been 

 made there in September. 



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