204 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



some shelter is usually provided. These may be either of the movable or permanent 

 type — usually they are of the latter. 



Pheasants will do well in the more formal aviary, provided the corrals are of a size 

 sufficient to provide exercise and shelter for the inmates, and to prevent the soil 

 being- contaminated. In selecting a site for the aviary, due consideration must be 

 had for drainage, soil, direction of the most frequent storms, shade, etc. Protection 

 from the most severe storms of winter may often be provided on a hillside by a 

 thick clump of trees and shrubbery. The position selected must be well drained and 

 never by any means at the bottom of a slope where water naturally collects. The 

 exposure should be toward the south or south-east if possible, thus providing the 

 maximum of sunshine during the short days of winter and some protection from the 

 cold winds of the north. 



Shade is important, and it is always desirable to erect the building beneath 

 large trees which will serve to keep off the heating rays of the sun. 



Clayey soil is not suitable for gallinaceous birds, as it retains moisture. Sandy 

 soil is what is required, as it provides perfect drainage and is easily turned up if 

 necessary. 



Probably the most satisfactory form of private building is that in use at Colonel 

 Anthony R. Kuser's estate at Bernardsville, New Jersey. This house is of wood, and 

 circular in form, its diameter being forty feet. The centre is devoted to the storage 

 of grain and supplies, the outer portion being divided into twenty-three pens for the 

 shelter of the birds. From the house radiate commodious runs, sixty feet in length, 

 well sodded and set with pampas grass and other natural shelter. Around the whole 

 is a path, outside of which is the outer wall of wire. The entire top is covered, so 

 that the path performs the double function of accommodating keeper and visitors and 

 protecting the birds from fright from the outside. 



Usually two, and not more than three, birds are kept in each enclosure, and as 

 the ground is spaded and disinfected each year or two, it does not become " sour." 



The type of aviary usual in public parks is well exemplified by the structure 

 in use in the New York Zoological Park. This building was devised by myself 

 upon a rather original plan, and has proved satisfactory in every way. It is a long- 

 building, corridor-like in structure, extending north and south, with twenty enclosures 

 for the birds, opening into outdoor runways, these latter measuring eight by twenty- 

 four feet and all facing the east. At each end of the building is a loft and a large room 

 heated by a stove, and affording space for thirty-two additional inside cages, all of 

 which connect with small, outside, wire-covered runways. This aviary is in every way 

 a double one, having a roomy dove-cote above each of the pheasant enclosures, afibrding 

 accommodation for a collection of birds of flight, and of perching habits, and interfering 

 in no way with the more terrestrial pheasants. By this general arrangement, all the 

 birds are given the choice of sunlight, outdoor shade, indoor shade and close warm 

 shelter. 



The rat questioji was kept in mind throughout the planning of this structure, as 

 this probably is the source of greatest trouble and danger to the pheasant fancier, 

 whether in a zoological park or a private estate. All the floors of the building and 

 runways, and the copings dividing the latter, are of concrete. Fitted tightly upon 



