﻿CHEER 
  PHEASANT 
  59 
  

  

  turned 
  aside 
  by 
  some 
  barrier, 
  or 
  to 
  escape 
  danger 
  by 
  taking 
  to 
  a 
  tree, 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  suppose 
  

   the 
  bird 
  would 
  ever 
  willingly 
  fly 
  upward. 
  No 
  matter 
  how 
  far 
  downward 
  the 
  pheasant 
  

   may 
  go 
  in 
  its 
  single 
  headlong 
  flight, 
  it 
  seems 
  invariably 
  to 
  return 
  on 
  foot, 
  working 
  

   upward 
  sometimes 
  by 
  an 
  extremely 
  indirect 
  route. 
  More 
  than 
  once 
  I 
  have 
  known 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  pairs 
  of 
  birds 
  which 
  I 
  had 
  under 
  observation 
  to 
  flush 
  and 
  scale 
  far 
  down 
  

   into 
  the 
  valley, 
  and 
  some 
  two 
  hours 
  later 
  to 
  return 
  along 
  . 
  the 
  mountain-side 
  from 
  

   the 
  north, 
  a 
  route 
  which 
  must 
  have 
  taken 
  them 
  several 
  hundred 
  yards 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  

   direct 
  way 
  back. 
  There 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  no 
  especial 
  significance 
  in 
  the 
  Cheer's 
  

   perching 
  in 
  trees. 
  They 
  will 
  do 
  this 
  when 
  slightly 
  alarmed 
  by 
  the 
  approach 
  of 
  an 
  

   animal 
  such 
  as 
  a 
  dog, 
  and 
  the 
  fact 
  of 
  having 
  a 
  nest 
  near 
  by 
  seems 
  also 
  to 
  bring 
  about 
  

   this 
  habit 
  more 
  frequently, 
  probably 
  owing 
  to 
  a 
  disinclination 
  to 
  leave 
  the 
  vicinity 
  

   until 
  compelled 
  to 
  do 
  so. 
  

  

  Many 
  years 
  ago 
  it 
  was 
  stated 
  by 
  some 
  author, 
  and 
  since 
  then 
  has 
  been 
  religiously 
  

   reiterated 
  in 
  many, 
  many 
  volumes, 
  that 
  the 
  Cheer 
  Pheasant 
  feeds 
  on 
  grubs, 
  insects, 
  

   seeds 
  and 
  berries, 
  and 
  never 
  touches 
  grass 
  or 
  leaves. 
  I 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  examine 
  only 
  

   a 
  few 
  crops 
  of 
  freshly 
  killed 
  birds, 
  but 
  in 
  two 
  I 
  found 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  small 
  

   leaves, 
  partly 
  comminuted. 
  On 
  the 
  whole, 
  however, 
  the 
  statement 
  as 
  regards 
  their 
  

   diet 
  is 
  correct, 
  and 
  I 
  give 
  the 
  exception 
  only 
  to 
  show 
  how 
  futile 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  formulate 
  hard 
  

   and 
  fast 
  rules 
  when 
  considering 
  the 
  lives 
  of 
  those 
  very 
  adaptive 
  and 
  individual 
  

   creatures 
  — 
  the 
  birds 
  of 
  our 
  earth. 
  

  

  Cheer 
  are 
  essentially 
  diggers 
  of 
  the 
  soil, 
  like 
  impeyans, 
  only 
  both 
  sexes 
  are 
  

   more 
  often 
  found 
  together, 
  and 
  except 
  when 
  the 
  hen 
  is 
  actually 
  incubating, 
  they 
  

   are 
  seen 
  in 
  pairs 
  labouring 
  close 
  together. 
  Like 
  the 
  impeyans, 
  they 
  have 
  favourite 
  

   digging 
  places, 
  and 
  where 
  grubs 
  or 
  terrestrial 
  tubers 
  are 
  abundant 
  they 
  will 
  often 
  

   work 
  down 
  a 
  foot 
  or 
  more 
  below 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  their 
  bodies 
  almost 
  wholly 
  

   concealed, 
  their 
  long 
  tails 
  fraying 
  out 
  behind 
  them 
  against 
  the 
  soil 
  and 
  grass, 
  and 
  every 
  

   second 
  or 
  two 
  the 
  head 
  and 
  neck 
  shooting 
  up 
  for 
  a 
  glance 
  in 
  all 
  directions. 
  Where 
  

   the 
  ground 
  is 
  grassy 
  and 
  pliable, 
  one 
  may 
  see 
  where 
  these 
  pheasants 
  have 
  fairly 
  

   ploughed 
  up 
  the 
  turf 
  for 
  many 
  yards, 
  but 
  this 
  is 
  a 
  rare 
  combination 
  of 
  favourable 
  

   conditions, 
  and 
  usually 
  one 
  finds 
  isolated 
  diggings 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  among 
  the 
  

   outjutting 
  boulders 
  and 
  rocky 
  ledges. 
  I 
  once 
  shot 
  a 
  Cheer 
  in 
  the 
  very 
  act 
  of 
  digging, 
  

   needing 
  it 
  both 
  for 
  the 
  pot 
  and 
  for 
  my 
  investigations, 
  and 
  found 
  eleven 
  wire-worms 
  

   and 
  a 
  half-dozen 
  fat, 
  white 
  cockchafer 
  grubs 
  which 
  it 
  had 
  but 
  recently 
  unearthed 
  and 
  

   swallowed. 
  It 
  was 
  not 
  a 
  rare 
  sight, 
  when 
  I 
  was 
  watching 
  a 
  single 
  Cheer 
  cock, 
  to 
  see 
  

   it 
  pick 
  ants 
  or 
  other 
  small 
  insects 
  from 
  the 
  grass 
  stems 
  and 
  low 
  shrubs, 
  and 
  several 
  

   times 
  I 
  saw 
  the 
  birds 
  pursue 
  and 
  capture 
  some 
  winged 
  insect, 
  either 
  grasshopper 
  

   or 
  small 
  moth, 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  disturbed 
  into 
  flight. 
  

  

  I 
  could 
  not 
  solve 
  the 
  drinking 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  to 
  my 
  complete 
  satisfaction. 
  On 
  

   many 
  days 
  I 
  am 
  positive 
  the 
  birds 
  did 
  not, 
  as 
  was 
  the 
  habit 
  of 
  the 
  impeyan 
  and 
  

   koklass 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity, 
  go 
  down 
  the 
  slope 
  to 
  water 
  in 
  the 
  evening. 
  On 
  only 
  two 
  days 
  

   did 
  I 
  see 
  both 
  birds 
  of 
  a 
  mated 
  pair 
  wander 
  off, 
  and 
  then 
  I 
  was 
  not 
  able 
  to 
  follow 
  them. 
  

   Whether 
  their 
  excessive 
  insect 
  diet 
  supplies 
  them 
  with 
  sufficient 
  moisture, 
  or 
  whatever 
  

   the 
  reason, 
  Cheer 
  certainly 
  do 
  not 
  show 
  the 
  regular 
  migration 
  to 
  and 
  from 
  water 
  once 
  

   or 
  twice 
  a 
  day 
  which 
  is 
  so 
  marked 
  a 
  feature 
  in 
  the 
  daily 
  life, 
  for 
  example, 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  

   kaleege 
  pheasants. 
  

  

  