﻿REEVES'S 
  PHEASANT 
  i 
  47 
  

  

  short 
  distance 
  up 
  the 
  hill, 
  and 
  four 
  more 
  Reeves 
  showed 
  themselves, 
  running 
  with 
  heads 
  

   low. 
  Their 
  fear 
  was 
  only 
  a 
  passing 
  emotion, 
  however, 
  and 
  within 
  ten 
  minutes 
  they 
  were 
  

   off 
  guard 
  and 
  feeding 
  busily. 
  Step 
  by 
  step 
  they 
  came 
  on, 
  the 
  whole 
  quintet 
  being 
  now 
  

   in 
  full 
  view, 
  now 
  half 
  hidden. 
  The 
  long, 
  trailing 
  tails 
  of 
  the 
  males 
  swept 
  along 
  behind, 
  

   sometimes 
  bent 
  almost 
  into 
  a 
  circle 
  as 
  a 
  bird 
  turned 
  abruptly 
  to 
  seize 
  some 
  insect 
  or 
  

   berry. 
  The 
  constantly 
  varying 
  elements 
  added 
  to 
  the 
  uncertainty 
  of 
  the 
  birds' 
  

   movements, 
  and 
  when 
  for 
  several 
  minutes 
  at 
  a 
  time 
  they 
  were 
  completely 
  obscured 
  

   by 
  mist, 
  I 
  fairly 
  trembled 
  with 
  the 
  excitement 
  of 
  again 
  picking 
  them 
  up 
  through 
  the 
  

   glasses. 
  

  

  Again 
  and 
  again 
  they 
  would 
  stand 
  straight 
  up 
  on 
  tip-toe 
  and 
  violently 
  vibrate 
  their 
  

   wings, 
  following 
  this 
  with 
  a 
  quick 
  shake 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  plumage, 
  flicking 
  off 
  the 
  gathered 
  

   moisture 
  in 
  a 
  multitude 
  of 
  drops. 
  Except 
  when 
  actually 
  obscured 
  by 
  the 
  driving 
  fog 
  

   the 
  birds 
  seemed 
  as 
  bright 
  as 
  if 
  their 
  plumage 
  was 
  dry. 
  There 
  was 
  no 
  protection 
  in 
  

   their 
  colouring, 
  at 
  least 
  among 
  these 
  surroundings, 
  and 
  I 
  had 
  no 
  difficulty 
  in 
  detecting 
  

   an 
  exposed 
  wing 
  or 
  part 
  of 
  a 
  tail 
  even 
  when 
  the 
  bird 
  was 
  perfectly 
  quiet. 
  The 
  two 
  hens 
  

   seemed 
  bolder 
  than 
  their 
  long-tailed 
  mates, 
  and 
  almost 
  always 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  van, 
  leading 
  

   by 
  a 
  few 
  feet 
  on 
  their 
  upward 
  jaunt. 
  At 
  one 
  place 
  where 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  steep 
  terraces 
  

   had 
  to 
  be 
  surmounted, 
  the 
  birds 
  went 
  in 
  single 
  file, 
  a 
  hen 
  leading 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  others 
  

   zigzagging 
  upward 
  exactly 
  in 
  her 
  footsteps. 
  It 
  was 
  remarkable 
  how 
  adept 
  the 
  

   pheasants 
  were 
  at 
  scaling 
  these 
  miniature 
  cliffs. 
  At 
  times 
  a 
  bird 
  had 
  to 
  crouch 
  with 
  

   its 
  breast 
  pressed 
  closely 
  against 
  the 
  rocky 
  wall, 
  its 
  tail 
  dangling 
  straight 
  down, 
  while 
  

   it 
  edged 
  sideways 
  along 
  a 
  narrow 
  ledge 
  to 
  where 
  the 
  slope 
  became 
  less 
  steep. 
  Not 
  

   once 
  did 
  they 
  fly, 
  although 
  often 
  a 
  few 
  flaps 
  would 
  have 
  saved 
  them 
  many 
  minutes 
  

   of 
  hard 
  effort. 
  

  

  Before 
  they 
  reached 
  me, 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  long-tailed 
  blue 
  magpies 
  flew 
  past, 
  their 
  harsh 
  

   cries 
  being 
  audible 
  long 
  before 
  they 
  emerged 
  from 
  the 
  mist. 
  When 
  the 
  small 
  flock 
  of 
  

   Reeves 
  came 
  within 
  forty 
  feet 
  I 
  had 
  flattened 
  down 
  until 
  nothing 
  was 
  visible 
  but 
  the 
  

   flat, 
  weathered 
  top 
  of 
  my 
  cap 
  and 
  my 
  binoculars. 
  Not 
  a 
  suspicion 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  birds 
  

   until 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  rascally 
  babblers, 
  which 
  I 
  had 
  entirely 
  forgotten, 
  passed 
  me 
  on 
  one 
  side, 
  

   and 
  from 
  a 
  neighbouring 
  tree 
  let 
  forth 
  a 
  flood 
  of 
  personal 
  abuse 
  upon 
  me. 
  I 
  was 
  

   interested 
  to 
  see 
  every 
  Reeves 
  crouch 
  at 
  once, 
  as 
  though 
  they 
  did 
  find 
  some 
  instinctive 
  

   protection 
  in 
  their 
  parti-coloured 
  plumage. 
  Against 
  the 
  grey 
  rocks 
  and 
  green 
  grass, 
  

   however, 
  they 
  were 
  markedly 
  conspicuous. 
  

  

  Knowing 
  that 
  all 
  observation 
  was 
  at 
  an 
  end, 
  I 
  stood 
  up, 
  and 
  five 
  living 
  rockets 
  shot 
  

   up 
  and 
  outward, 
  tails 
  quivering 
  and 
  undulating, 
  wings 
  a 
  mere 
  blur, 
  bodies 
  sending 
  forth 
  

   shimmering 
  flashes 
  of 
  gold 
  as 
  the 
  birds 
  settled 
  into 
  their 
  long 
  flight, 
  headed 
  upward 
  

   toward 
  the 
  still 
  higher 
  opposite 
  ridge. 
  Almost 
  at 
  once 
  they 
  vanished 
  into 
  the 
  mist, 
  and 
  

   only 
  a 
  trembling 
  pine 
  branch 
  which 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  had 
  touched 
  showed 
  that 
  any 
  living 
  

   pheasant 
  had 
  ever 
  been 
  within 
  sight. 
  At 
  the 
  shock, 
  the 
  flowering 
  conifer 
  shed 
  a 
  shower 
  

   of 
  pollen 
  dust, 
  which 
  was 
  at 
  once 
  drowned 
  in 
  the 
  drizzling 
  rain. 
  The 
  babblers 
  mewed 
  

   peevishly 
  in 
  the 
  underbrush, 
  and 
  after 
  wringing 
  as 
  much 
  water 
  as 
  possible 
  out 
  of 
  my 
  

   clothing, 
  I 
  started 
  on 
  my 
  long, 
  but 
  mostly 
  downhill 
  return 
  to 
  the 
  distant 
  gorge 
  of 
  the 
  

   Yangtse. 
  My 
  boy 
  greeted 
  me 
  with 
  : 
  " 
  Have 
  seen, 
  have 
  seen 
  twenty, 
  forty 
  pheasant." 
  

   But 
  on 
  cross-questioning 
  these 
  became 
  reduced 
  to 
  three 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  of 
  the 
  flock 
  which 
  

   had 
  given 
  me 
  such 
  a 
  splendid 
  opportunity. 
  

  

  