﻿EASTERN 
  CHINESE 
  RING-NECKED 
  PHEASANT 
  121 
  

  

  The 
  Ring-necks 
  inhabit 
  three 
  general 
  types 
  of 
  country 
  : 
  first, 
  dense 
  reed-beds 
  along 
  

   river 
  banks 
  ; 
  secondly, 
  low 
  rolling 
  hills 
  covered 
  with 
  scrub 
  oak, 
  chestnut 
  and 
  pine, 
  or 
  

   dense 
  grass 
  undergrowth 
  ; 
  and 
  third, 
  the 
  flat 
  paddy 
  fields. 
  

  

  The 
  reed-beds 
  are 
  regular 
  reed 
  forests, 
  reaching 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  sixteen 
  feet, 
  and 
  while 
  

   standing, 
  they 
  afford 
  a 
  safe 
  home 
  for 
  the 
  greater 
  number 
  of 
  pheasants 
  in 
  the 
  region. 
  

   The 
  birds 
  come 
  'out 
  to 
  feed 
  about 
  the 
  paddys 
  of 
  rice, 
  wheat 
  or 
  millet 
  which 
  always 
  

   border 
  the 
  reeds, 
  or 
  feed 
  upon 
  the 
  insects, 
  roots 
  and 
  seeds 
  among 
  the 
  reeds 
  themselves. 
  

   The 
  seeds 
  come 
  chiefly 
  from 
  the 
  creeping 
  vines 
  which 
  abound 
  on 
  the 
  reeds. 
  

  

  By 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  January 
  the 
  shelter 
  afforded 
  by 
  these 
  giant 
  annuals 
  has 
  ceased 
  to 
  

   exist. 
  The 
  reeds 
  have 
  been 
  cut 
  down, 
  stacked, 
  or 
  sent 
  away 
  by 
  sampan 
  or 
  junk 
  as 
  

   articles 
  of 
  fuel 
  or 
  thatching. 
  When 
  the 
  completion 
  of 
  reed-cutting 
  is 
  approaching, 
  and 
  

   the 
  vast 
  expanses 
  of 
  " 
  forest 
  " 
  are 
  reduced 
  to 
  workable 
  dimensions, 
  the 
  biggest 
  rises 
  of 
  

   beaten-out 
  pheasants 
  are 
  obtained 
  by 
  sportsmen. 
  Plenty 
  of 
  guns 
  and 
  beaters 
  are 
  

   needed, 
  and 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  forty 
  or 
  fifty 
  birds 
  will 
  break 
  cover 
  at 
  one 
  time, 
  not 
  counting 
  

   odds 
  and 
  ends 
  of 
  pioneer 
  or 
  laggard 
  singles. 
  Until 
  thus 
  reduced 
  by 
  cutting, 
  the 
  reed 
  

   forests 
  are 
  impossible 
  for 
  driving 
  or 
  shooting. 
  

  

  The 
  rolling 
  hills, 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  hundred 
  feet 
  high, 
  so 
  characteristic 
  of 
  Eastern 
  China, 
  

   are 
  either 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  river 
  banks, 
  or 
  standing 
  back 
  from 
  them 
  beyond 
  the 
  padded 
  flats. 
  

   They 
  are 
  interspersed 
  with 
  small 
  farms, 
  surrounded 
  rarely 
  by 
  a 
  few 
  trees. 
  Small 
  

   bamboo 
  plantations 
  alternate 
  with 
  tangles 
  of 
  brier 
  or 
  scrub 
  pine. 
  Hardly 
  ever 
  is 
  one 
  

   out 
  of 
  sight 
  of 
  graves. 
  

  

  The 
  slopes 
  of 
  the 
  hills 
  are 
  everywhere 
  terraced 
  and 
  cultivated, 
  and 
  here, 
  through 
  all 
  

   the 
  shooting 
  season, 
  or 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  the 
  undergrowth 
  remains 
  standing, 
  the 
  best 
  hunting 
  

   is 
  to 
  be 
  had. 
  The 
  pheasants 
  give 
  good 
  high 
  and 
  crossing 
  shots, 
  while 
  in 
  addition, 
  the 
  

   beaters 
  usually 
  flush 
  woodcock, 
  quail, 
  deer 
  and 
  hares. 
  The 
  pheasants 
  are 
  usually 
  to 
  be 
  

   found 
  around 
  the 
  lower 
  areas, 
  near 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  paddys. 
  

  

  The 
  paddy 
  flats 
  include 
  not 
  only 
  the 
  actual 
  rice 
  beds, 
  but 
  the 
  flat 
  country 
  where 
  

   wheat 
  and 
  rape 
  are 
  grown. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  dominant 
  type 
  of 
  country 
  about 
  the 
  lower 
  

   Yangtse, 
  and 
  it 
  probably 
  provides 
  the 
  greater 
  percentage 
  of 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  pheasants. 
  After 
  

   the 
  crops 
  have 
  been 
  cut 
  in 
  the 
  late 
  autumn, 
  the 
  paddys 
  are 
  quite 
  bare 
  and 
  remain 
  so 
  

   until 
  the 
  new 
  growth 
  appears 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  spring, 
  about 
  the 
  1st 
  of 
  March. 
  But 
  

   throughout 
  the 
  winter, 
  unless 
  the 
  natives 
  have 
  grubbed 
  the 
  very 
  roots 
  for 
  fuel, 
  there 
  is 
  

   standing 
  grass 
  on 
  the 
  dividing 
  ridges 
  between 
  the 
  paddys, 
  and 
  even 
  these 
  narrow 
  

   ribbons 
  of 
  vegetation 
  afford 
  ample 
  cover 
  for 
  a 
  bird 
  with 
  such 
  remarkable 
  powers 
  of 
  

   concealment 
  as 
  the 
  Chinese 
  Ring-neck. 
  

  

  In 
  scrub-covered, 
  hilly 
  regions 
  the 
  cocks 
  seek 
  the 
  densest 
  bamboo 
  cover 
  during 
  the 
  

   heat 
  of 
  the 
  day, 
  while 
  the 
  hens 
  seem 
  rather 
  to 
  choose 
  long 
  grass. 
  This 
  latter 
  choice 
  may 
  

   result 
  from 
  the 
  grass 
  affording 
  better 
  hiding-places 
  for 
  the 
  young, 
  and 
  perhaps 
  a 
  greater 
  

   abundance 
  of 
  insects 
  and 
  seeds. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  my 
  correspondents 
  tells 
  of 
  finding 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  eight 
  hens 
  with 
  young 
  in 
  a 
  

   comparatively 
  small 
  patch 
  of 
  grass 
  during 
  a 
  July 
  which 
  was 
  a 
  record 
  hot 
  month 
  in 
  a 
  

   record 
  hot 
  year. 
  The 
  hens 
  did 
  not 
  go 
  far, 
  but, 
  as 
  they 
  left, 
  called 
  to 
  the 
  young 
  

   remaining 
  behind 
  in 
  the 
  grass. 
  The 
  young 
  did 
  not 
  rise, 
  but 
  after 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  quiet, 
  

   several 
  dozen 
  made 
  their 
  way 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  grass 
  and 
  up 
  a 
  little 
  bank 
  into 
  the 
  bamboo 
  scrub 
  

   where 
  the 
  hens 
  had 
  concealed 
  themselves, 
  and 
  where 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  cocks 
  were 
  resting. 
  

  

  VOL. 
  Ill 
  R 
  

  

  