﻿62 
  A 
  MONOGRAPH 
  OF 
  THE 
  PHEASANTS 
  

  

  very 
  least 
  detail— 
  a 
  single 
  step 
  forward, 
  then 
  a 
  sharp 
  turn 
  beneath 
  the 
  deodar 
  branches 
  

   and 
  out 
  on 
  the 
  opposite 
  side. 
  When 
  she 
  was 
  well 
  away 
  I 
  crept 
  out 
  and 
  found 
  six 
  eggs, 
  

   unusually 
  heavily 
  speckled 
  for 
  Cheer 
  eggs. 
  There 
  was 
  no 
  hollow 
  in 
  the 
  ground, 
  but 
  

   a 
  mere 
  depression 
  in 
  the 
  steep 
  slope 
  of 
  grass 
  stems, 
  with 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  feathers 
  of 
  the 
  

   bird 
  which 
  had 
  accidentally 
  lodged 
  there. 
  I 
  had 
  to 
  bend 
  the 
  grass 
  and 
  ferns 
  down 
  to 
  

   photograph 
  the 
  nest, 
  and 
  when 
  I 
  left 
  I 
  replaced 
  them 
  as 
  best 
  I 
  could. 
  This 
  disturbance 
  

   did 
  not 
  affect 
  the 
  parents, 
  and 
  indeed 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  afterward 
  a 
  terrific 
  hailstorm 
  flattened 
  

   all 
  the 
  weak 
  turf 
  vegetation, 
  together 
  with 
  my 
  tent. 
  When 
  I 
  left 
  a 
  week 
  later 
  she 
  was 
  

   sitting 
  as 
  closely 
  as 
  ever 
  on 
  five 
  eggs, 
  as 
  I 
  had 
  taken 
  one. 
  The 
  embryos 
  at 
  this 
  time 
  

   being 
  of 
  large 
  size, 
  the 
  eggs 
  would 
  hatch 
  in 
  about 
  five 
  days 
  more, 
  the 
  duration 
  of 
  

   incubation 
  being 
  twenty-eight 
  days. 
  I 
  trust 
  no 
  eye 
  of 
  eagle 
  or 
  mink 
  found 
  her 
  out 
  

   before 
  that 
  time. 
  

  

  The 
  eggs 
  are 
  of 
  a 
  broad 
  oval 
  shape 
  and 
  somewhat 
  glossy. 
  The 
  background 
  varies 
  

   from 
  pale 
  stone-colour 
  to 
  cream. 
  While 
  some 
  are 
  entirely 
  plain, 
  quite 
  unmarked, 
  others 
  

   show 
  a 
  few 
  reddish-brown 
  dots 
  at 
  the 
  larger 
  end, 
  and 
  the 
  extreme 
  of 
  marked 
  eggs 
  is 
  

   where, 
  as 
  in 
  those 
  which 
  I 
  photographed 
  in 
  the 
  nest, 
  the 
  entire 
  shell 
  is 
  sprinkled 
  more 
  

   or 
  less 
  thickly 
  with 
  fine 
  dots 
  and 
  specks 
  of 
  reddish 
  brown, 
  much 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  

   red-legged 
  partridges 
  Caccabis 
  (now 
  Alectoris). 
  An 
  even 
  heavier-marked 
  specimen 
  is 
  

   figured 
  by 
  Mitchell. 
  Thus 
  we 
  see 
  that 
  the 
  eggsrof 
  the 
  Cheer 
  are 
  entirely 
  unlike 
  those 
  of 
  

   the 
  genus 
  Phasianus, 
  with 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  so 
  frequently 
  been 
  associated 
  ; 
  and, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  

   hand, 
  they 
  have 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  warm 
  cafd 
  au 
  lait 
  hue 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  impeyan, 
  koklass 
  

   and 
  kaleege, 
  so 
  that 
  in 
  this 
  character 
  the 
  Cheer 
  stands 
  quite 
  isolated. 
  As 
  Wilson 
  has 
  

   remarked, 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  somewhat 
  small 
  for 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  bird, 
  but 
  this 
  is 
  only 
  in 
  

   proportion 
  to 
  the 
  number 
  laid. 
  Compared 
  with 
  the 
  impeyan 
  pheasant, 
  we 
  find 
  the 
  Cheer 
  

   much 
  the 
  same-sized 
  bird, 
  measuring 
  (exclusive 
  of 
  the 
  tail) 
  about 
  430 
  mm., 
  as 
  against 
  the 
  

   very 
  slightly 
  larger 
  impeyan's 
  440. 
  The 
  average 
  size 
  of 
  Cheer 
  eggs 
  is 
  55 
  x 
  39 
  ; 
  while 
  

   those 
  of 
  the 
  impeyan 
  measure 
  65 
  x 
  45. 
  The 
  compensation 
  lies 
  in 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  Cheer 
  

   deposits 
  from 
  nine 
  to 
  fourteen 
  eggs, 
  while 
  the 
  impeyan 
  lays 
  only 
  from 
  two 
  to 
  five 
  or 
  

   very 
  rarely 
  six. 
  

  

  The 
  Cheer 
  will 
  hardly 
  last 
  much 
  longer 
  except 
  in 
  the 
  most 
  inaccessible 
  of 
  their 
  haunts. 
  

   In 
  reserved 
  forests 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  close 
  season 
  from 
  the 
  1st 
  of 
  March 
  to 
  the 
  15th 
  of 
  

   September, 
  but 
  elsewhere 
  it 
  is 
  shot 
  at 
  any 
  season, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  counted 
  an 
  excellent 
  dish 
  for 
  

   the 
  table, 
  and 
  its 
  habits 
  of 
  lying 
  low 
  and 
  then 
  trying 
  to 
  escape 
  with 
  a 
  sudden 
  terrific 
  

   burst 
  of 
  speed 
  appeals 
  as 
  a 
  challenge 
  to 
  the 
  skill 
  of 
  every 
  hunter 
  Sahib. 
  

  

  CAPTIVITY 
  

  

  The 
  Cheer 
  pheasant 
  has 
  long 
  been 
  a 
  familiar 
  bird 
  in 
  Zoological 
  Gardens 
  and 
  large 
  

   private 
  collections, 
  but, 
  like 
  the 
  impeyan, 
  it 
  has 
  completely 
  failed 
  to 
  fulfil 
  the 
  great 
  

   hopes 
  which 
  early 
  breeders 
  entertained 
  of 
  establishing 
  this 
  species 
  in 
  foreign 
  countries 
  

   in 
  such 
  numbers 
  as 
  the 
  common 
  pheasant. 
  When 
  the 
  Cheer 
  has 
  been 
  turned 
  out 
  with 
  

   other 
  pheasants 
  in 
  England, 
  Germany 
  and 
  elsewhere, 
  the 
  result 
  has 
  been 
  invariably 
  the 
  

   same. 
  Unlike 
  the 
  other 
  species 
  which 
  seek 
  cover 
  in 
  woods 
  and 
  undergrowth, 
  this 
  

   pheasant 
  at 
  once 
  wanders 
  afar 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  open 
  grassland, 
  and 
  seems 
  to 
  lack 
  all 
  homing 
  

   instincts. 
  It 
  has, 
  however, 
  bred 
  many 
  times 
  in 
  captivity. 
  The 
  Cheer 
  pheasant 
  seems 
  

  

  