12 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



are more closely confined, where the eggs are taken away as soon as laid, is, of course, no 

 true index to the normal clutch. Females of the first year seldom lay more than twelve 

 or fourteen, but older hens will produce thirty to as many as forty-five fertile eggs 

 in a season. The eggs are smooth, quite glossy and a broad oval in shape. They vary 

 from a pale buff to cream colour, and measure from 32 to 35 mm. in breadth, and 

 from 43 to 46 in length. 



So tiny and helpless seem the young chicks when first hatched, that one wonders 

 how any can survive the dangers from beast, bird and weather which menace them 

 in their rugged Chinese haunts. 



The relation between the wild birds and the human inhabitants of the country is 

 very casual. There is a demand for the plumage for millinery purposes and for the 

 feathers of the crest for tying artificial flies for fishing. But the output of aviary-bred 

 birds in Europe is so considerable that comparatively few hundreds of these pheasants 

 are exported annually from China. They are off"ered for sale in fair numbers at Hankow 

 in the fall, miserably confined in small quakes or wicker baskets, where they bring about 

 400 cash or fifty cents a pair. One man who attempted to keep twenty or thirty birds in 

 that city, lost them all in a short time from the attacks of stoats and rats, which overran 

 the place. All the wild birds caught by the Chinese are captured in snares, which very 

 frequently break or strain the long, slender legs. So wary are the birds, that only 

 the Chinese hunters or those who spend much time in the wilder portions of the 

 country ever see them. 



It has been thought that Pliny's account of the Phoenix (" History," Liv. 10, Caput 2, 

 p. 5) may have been based on the Golden Pheasant, but I do not think this can ever be 

 answered with certainty. After careful study of the subject in literature, and examination 

 of hundreds of representations of this creature, both in the museums of three continents 

 and throughout China and Japan, I see in it only a creature of the imagination, usually 

 with pheasant or peacock characters, but on the whole altogether mythical and born of 

 the human mind. 



CAPTIVITY 



I have already given considerable notes in regard to the habits of this bird in 

 captivity, but as the Golden is one of the easiest of the pheasants to obtain and to breed, 

 I shall go more into detail. The average market price for a pair of these birds is about 

 twelve dollars, and they can be kept in health and bred successfully in a surprisingly 

 small aviary. As is the case with almost all birds, individuality is strongly pronounced, 

 and it is impossible to tell how any given bird will behave. As a rule, however, they will 

 soon become tame, especially in small quarters, and will not fight or annoy birds smaller 

 than themselves. They have often been kept for years in close association with tiny 

 manakins and weavers with no harmful results, except for the dangers arising from the 

 clumsiness and large size of the pheasants. On the other hand, young Golden chicks 

 have been known to seize by the neck, shake and kill a brood of still tinier California 

 quail chicks, and a cock Golden will occasionally run amok and kill his own mate. 



These pheasants do not come into full colour until the second year, and will not 

 breed the first spring. The young cocks should be confined by themselves, as they will 

 ill-treat the hens if left in the same run. There are one or two records of the breeding 



