﻿124 
  A 
  MONOGRAPH 
  OF 
  THE 
  PHEASANTS 
  

  

  now 
  absolutely 
  motionless 
  and 
  silent, 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  next 
  hint 
  of 
  danger 
  the 
  cocks 
  are 
  up 
  

   and 
  away 
  with 
  a 
  rushing 
  whirr 
  of 
  wings, 
  while 
  the 
  hens 
  may 
  wait 
  for 
  still 
  another 
  

   threat, 
  trusting 
  to 
  their 
  perfect 
  resemblance 
  to 
  the 
  grass 
  and 
  dead 
  leaves. 
  

  

  The 
  keenness 
  and 
  accuracy 
  of 
  their 
  sense 
  of 
  hearing 
  is 
  proven 
  by 
  their 
  avoidance 
  of 
  

   the 
  direction 
  of 
  a 
  suspicious 
  sound, 
  no 
  matter 
  how 
  low 
  it 
  may 
  have 
  been, 
  and 
  how 
  

   completely 
  concealed 
  its 
  author. 
  Tneir 
  eyesight, 
  in 
  turn, 
  is 
  superb, 
  and 
  a 
  cock 
  in 
  full 
  

   flight 
  will 
  swerve 
  at 
  the 
  least 
  glint 
  of 
  a 
  gun 
  barrel, 
  when 
  nothing 
  else 
  is 
  visible. 
  

   Hunters 
  who 
  have 
  dressed 
  in 
  white, 
  and 
  attempted 
  to 
  stalk 
  pheasants 
  in 
  the 
  snow, 
  have 
  

   found 
  that 
  they 
  would 
  be 
  detected 
  a 
  hundred 
  yards 
  away, 
  the 
  cocks 
  running 
  rapidly 
  up 
  

   the 
  hill-sides 
  and 
  watching 
  their 
  pursuers 
  from 
  the 
  summit. 
  

  

  Like 
  the 
  crows 
  of 
  our 
  cornfields, 
  Chinese 
  pheasants 
  soon 
  learn 
  to 
  distinguish 
  

   between 
  harmless 
  coolies 
  and 
  hunters. 
  They 
  will 
  feed 
  and 
  walk 
  about 
  in 
  full 
  view 
  of 
  a 
  

   gang 
  of 
  working 
  coolies, 
  and 
  be 
  off 
  like 
  a 
  shot 
  at 
  the 
  approach 
  of 
  a 
  man 
  with 
  a 
  gun. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  deforestation 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  and 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  paddy 
  cultivation 
  

   actually 
  favour 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  pheasants, 
  the 
  compensation 
  lies 
  in 
  the 
  correspondingly 
  

   greater 
  number 
  of 
  foreign 
  so-called 
  sportsmen, 
  who 
  go 
  out 
  from 
  the 
  cities 
  in 
  crowds 
  

   and 
  bring 
  back 
  large 
  bags 
  of 
  hens. 
  Their 
  lack 
  of 
  sportsmanship 
  prevents 
  them 
  from 
  

   trying 
  to 
  distinguish 
  between 
  the 
  sexes 
  when 
  the 
  birds 
  rise, 
  and 
  their 
  lack 
  of 
  skill 
  makes 
  

   the 
  slower 
  rising 
  and 
  flying 
  hen 
  their 
  prey, 
  while 
  the 
  wary, 
  swift 
  cock 
  more 
  often 
  

   escapes. 
  The 
  pot-hunting 
  Japanese 
  and 
  Macao 
  Portuguese 
  also 
  account 
  for 
  a 
  vast 
  

   number 
  of 
  hens. 
  

  

  Especially 
  where 
  persecuted, 
  Ring-neck 
  Pheasants 
  are 
  masters 
  in 
  the 
  art 
  of 
  

   detecting 
  and 
  avoiding 
  danger. 
  The 
  cocks 
  can 
  rise 
  almost 
  vertically 
  from 
  a 
  patch 
  of 
  

   reeds 
  or 
  grass 
  and 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  rapid 
  wing-beats 
  attain 
  a 
  terrific 
  speed, 
  which 
  carries 
  

   them 
  far 
  out 
  of 
  danger. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  they 
  know 
  when 
  it 
  pays 
  to 
  risk 
  hiding. 
  

   George 
  Tanning 
  has 
  given 
  a 
  vivid 
  account 
  of 
  this 
  in 
  a 
  Shanghai 
  newspaper, 
  where, 
  as 
  

   he 
  says, 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  utterly 
  impossible 
  for 
  a 
  cock 
  pheasant 
  to 
  hide 
  himself 
  amongst 
  a 
  

   few 
  tufts 
  of 
  dead 
  winter 
  grass. 
  Yet 
  a 
  bird 
  can 
  vanish 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  place 
  as 
  completely 
  as 
  

   if 
  the 
  earth 
  had 
  opened 
  and 
  swallowed 
  it 
  up. 
  The 
  plumage 
  of 
  the 
  pheasant 
  contains 
  

   spots 
  or 
  splashes 
  of 
  red, 
  blue, 
  black, 
  green, 
  brown 
  and 
  yellow. 
  The 
  two 
  latter 
  shades 
  

   are 
  common 
  enough 
  among 
  the 
  blades 
  of 
  grass 
  and 
  straw, 
  the 
  reds 
  are 
  present 
  in 
  stalks 
  

   and 
  ground 
  leaves, 
  the 
  greens 
  are 
  always 
  present 
  in 
  the 
  evergreens, 
  while 
  the 
  blacks 
  and 
  

   dark 
  blues 
  may 
  represent 
  the 
  shadows 
  and 
  dark 
  places 
  between 
  the 
  stalks 
  and 
  under 
  

   the 
  leaves 
  of 
  the 
  plants. 
  Yet 
  with 
  all 
  this 
  understandable 
  colour 
  logic, 
  the 
  disappearing 
  

   pheasant 
  is 
  as 
  wonderful 
  as 
  ever. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Wade 
  records 
  a 
  bag 
  of 
  eighteen 
  hundred 
  and 
  one 
  pheasants 
  made 
  in 
  twenty- 
  

   three 
  days 
  at 
  Ewo, 
  shot 
  over 
  dogs 
  in 
  open 
  fields. 
  Lanning 
  says, 
  that 
  "the 
  cream 
  of 
  

   the 
  shooting 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  got 
  perhaps 
  a 
  little 
  before 
  Christmas 
  ; 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  depends 
  on 
  

   the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  crops. 
  My 
  best 
  time 
  amongst 
  the 
  long-tails 
  happened 
  one 
  year, 
  

   after 
  Christmas, 
  in 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  country 
  along 
  the 
  Grand 
  Canal, 
  between 
  Kahshing 
  and 
  

   Soochow, 
  where 
  at 
  ordinary 
  times 
  one 
  rarely 
  found 
  anything. 
  On 
  this 
  occasion, 
  

   however, 
  for 
  some 
  reason 
  or 
  other, 
  a 
  few 
  patches 
  of 
  paddy 
  had 
  been 
  left, 
  the 
  only 
  ones 
  

   apparently 
  in 
  the 
  whole 
  district, 
  and 
  to 
  them 
  pheasants 
  from 
  far 
  and 
  near 
  had 
  been 
  

   attracted. 
  

  

  "In 
  a 
  couple 
  of 
  hours 
  before 
  sunset, 
  and 
  another 
  couple 
  of 
  hours 
  next 
  morning 
  

  

  