﻿KIRGHIZ 
  PHEASANT 
  99 
  

  

  if 
  a 
  dozen 
  of 
  these 
  wild 
  birds 
  could 
  be 
  mixed 
  with 
  their 
  English 
  cousins, 
  and 
  put 
  over 
  

   the 
  guns, 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  proportion 
  would 
  escape 
  untouched. 
  I 
  have 
  seen, 
  too, 
  cock 
  

   birds 
  put 
  up 
  one 
  side 
  of 
  a 
  river 
  cross 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  side, 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  perhaps 
  150 
  or 
  

   200 
  yards, 
  at 
  a 
  height 
  which 
  would 
  do 
  credit 
  to 
  the 
  most 
  skilfully 
  organised 
  drive 
  at 
  

   home, 
  and 
  yet 
  there 
  was 
  nothing 
  to 
  make 
  these 
  birds 
  fly 
  high. 
  As 
  far 
  as 
  my 
  experience 
  

   goes, 
  this 
  is 
  not 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  the 
  birds 
  that 
  have 
  their 
  abode 
  in 
  the 
  reed 
  beds 
  or 
  the 
  

   plain 
  lands 
  of 
  Turkestan, 
  such 
  as 
  Aral, 
  Balkash, 
  with 
  the 
  rivers 
  flowing 
  into 
  them, 
  and 
  

   the 
  Zarafshan 
  regions. 
  There 
  the 
  birds 
  fly 
  low 
  at 
  all 
  times, 
  and 
  do 
  not 
  trouble 
  to 
  go 
  

   very 
  far 
  either, 
  for 
  their 
  safety 
  lies 
  in 
  the 
  reedy 
  swamps, 
  where 
  man 
  cannot 
  go. 
  It 
  

   must 
  be 
  remembered 
  that 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  percentage 
  of 
  the 
  pheasants 
  of 
  Central 
  Asia 
  

   in 
  their 
  natural 
  haunts 
  have 
  never 
  so 
  much 
  as 
  seen 
  a 
  tree, 
  much 
  less 
  a 
  wooded 
  

   country 
  of 
  considerable 
  area 
  containing 
  high 
  trees. 
  

  

  " 
  Here, 
  for 
  instance, 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  that 
  I 
  had 
  seen 
  the 
  wild 
  pheasants 
  go 
  to 
  

   roost 
  in 
  the 
  trees. 
  At 
  a 
  quarter 
  to 
  five 
  every 
  evening 
  the 
  jungle 
  resounded 
  with 
  the 
  

   ' 
  cock-cock 
  ' 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  as 
  they 
  took 
  up 
  their 
  quarters 
  for 
  the 
  night. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  

   moment, 
  par 
  excellence, 
  for 
  the 
  native 
  hunter 
  as 
  he 
  creeps 
  through 
  the 
  undergrowth, 
  

   and 
  he 
  never 
  fails 
  to 
  bag 
  a 
  bird 
  at 
  each 
  shot 
  from 
  his 
  old 
  muzzle-loader. 
  The 
  birds 
  

   are 
  very 
  loath 
  to 
  fly 
  when 
  once 
  off 
  the 
  ground, 
  and 
  country, 
  which 
  before 
  seemed 
  bird- 
  

   less 
  owing 
  to 
  their 
  running 
  powers 
  and 
  close 
  sitting, 
  now 
  showed 
  the 
  true 
  number 
  of 
  

   pheasants 
  inhabiting 
  it. 
  

  

  " 
  Besides 
  the 
  native 
  gunner, 
  the 
  pheasants 
  have 
  a 
  great 
  enemy 
  in 
  the 
  falconer. 
  

   The 
  Kirghiz, 
  always 
  fond 
  of 
  sport, 
  spend 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  of 
  their 
  time 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  

   in 
  flying 
  their 
  hawks 
  at 
  pheasants. 
  Their 
  favourite 
  hawk 
  for 
  this 
  purpose 
  is 
  the 
  

   goshawk 
  or 
  karchigai, 
  a 
  bold, 
  fearless 
  bird, 
  easily 
  able 
  to 
  take 
  such 
  game. 
  It 
  was 
  with 
  

   much 
  interest 
  that 
  I 
  watched 
  a 
  native 
  hawk-catcher 
  at 
  work 
  ; 
  his 
  methods 
  were 
  so 
  

   much 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  fowlers 
  of 
  other 
  far-distant 
  countries. 
  A 
  circle 
  of 
  very 
  light 
  but 
  

   large-meshed 
  netting, 
  supported 
  on 
  light 
  wands, 
  surrounded 
  a 
  bare 
  space, 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  

   of 
  Avhich 
  was 
  placed 
  a 
  captive 
  pigeon 
  on 
  a 
  block. 
  A 
  string 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  pigeon's 
  

   wings 
  made 
  the 
  bird 
  flutter 
  at 
  the 
  will 
  of 
  the 
  fowler, 
  who 
  lay 
  concealed 
  under 
  a 
  heap 
  

   of 
  brushwood 
  at 
  a 
  short 
  distance. 
  A 
  wild 
  hawk, 
  attracted 
  by 
  the 
  fluttering 
  pigeon, 
  

   ' 
  stoops 
  ' 
  at 
  it, 
  is 
  entangled 
  in 
  the 
  netting, 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  mercy 
  of 
  the 
  falconer. 
  

  

  " 
  In 
  the 
  daytime, 
  too, 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  months 
  one 
  may 
  find 
  the 
  pheasants 
  off 
  the 
  

   ground, 
  high 
  in 
  the 
  thorn 
  scrub, 
  feeding 
  on 
  the 
  yellow 
  berries, 
  which 
  form 
  their 
  chief 
  

   article 
  of 
  diet. 
  If 
  it 
  were 
  not 
  for 
  the 
  great 
  winter 
  supply 
  of 
  frozen 
  berries, 
  which, 
  by 
  

   the 
  way, 
  the 
  Chinese 
  call 
  ' 
  pheasant 
  food,' 
  the 
  birds 
  would 
  indeed 
  be 
  in 
  a 
  bad 
  way. 
  

   As 
  it 
  was, 
  all 
  the 
  birds 
  that 
  I 
  killed 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  December, 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  a 
  month 
  of 
  

   snow-covered 
  ground 
  and 
  bitter 
  cold, 
  were 
  very 
  fat 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  best 
  condition. 
  I 
  opened 
  

   as 
  many 
  as 
  thirty 
  crops, 
  and 
  found 
  all 
  full 
  of 
  this 
  berry, 
  and 
  little 
  else 
  besides. 
  But 
  

   they 
  have 
  to 
  make 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  day 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  get 
  their 
  fill, 
  and 
  were 
  busy 
  feeding 
  

   during 
  the 
  nine 
  hours 
  of 
  daylight. 
  

  

  " 
  During 
  the 
  first 
  day 
  I 
  shot 
  twenty-six 
  birds, 
  and 
  at 
  dusk 
  retired 
  to 
  the 
  native 
  

   house, 
  where 
  I 
  spent 
  most 
  of 
  my 
  time 
  in 
  devising 
  a 
  method 
  for 
  keeping 
  my 
  specimens 
  

   out 
  of 
  harm's 
  way. 
  What 
  with 
  cats 
  and 
  the 
  native 
  child, 
  who 
  would 
  pull 
  out 
  all 
  the 
  

   long 
  tail-feathers, 
  I 
  had 
  my 
  work 
  cut 
  out. 
  The 
  next 
  day 
  I 
  shot 
  through 
  the 
  more 
  

   densely 
  timbered 
  country, 
  and 
  found 
  birds 
  fairly 
  numerous 
  in 
  certain 
  localities— 
  

  

  