﻿REEVES'S 
  PHEASANT 
  151 
  

  

  Marco 
  Polo's 
  brief 
  reference, 
  it 
  was 
  living 
  in 
  the 
  aviary 
  of 
  an 
  Englishman, 
  Mr. 
  Beale, 
  

   at 
  Macao, 
  near 
  Hong-Kong. 
  

  

  A 
  traveller 
  (Bennett, 
  "Wanderings 
  in 
  New 
  South 
  Wales 
  ") 
  who 
  visited 
  Macao 
  at 
  

   this 
  time, 
  writes 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  " 
  In 
  Mr. 
  Beale's 
  splendid 
  aviary 
  and 
  garden 
  at 
  Macao 
  the 
  

   beautiful 
  P. 
  veneratus 
  of 
  Temminck, 
  the 
  P. 
  reevesii 
  of 
  Gray, 
  now 
  commonly 
  known 
  by 
  

   the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  Reeves's 
  Pheasant, 
  was 
  seen. 
  It 
  is 
  the 
  Chee-kai 
  of 
  the 
  Chinese. 
  

  

  "Mr. 
  Beale's 
  first 
  specimen, 
  obtained 
  in 
  1808, 
  was 
  kept 
  in 
  a 
  healthy 
  state 
  for 
  

   thirteen 
  years 
  ; 
  after 
  its 
  death 
  he 
  endeavoured 
  to 
  procure 
  others, 
  but 
  did 
  not 
  succeed 
  

   until 
  1 
  83 
  1, 
  when 
  four 
  specimens 
  were 
  brought 
  from 
  the 
  interior 
  of 
  China, 
  and 
  purchased 
  

   by 
  him 
  for 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  thirty 
  dollars 
  ; 
  these 
  were, 
  I 
  believe, 
  taken 
  to 
  England 
  

   subsequently 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Reeves.'' 
  

  

  It 
  seems, 
  however, 
  that 
  Mr. 
  Reeves 
  brought 
  only 
  a 
  single 
  male 
  in 
  1831, 
  and 
  seven 
  

   years 
  later 
  his 
  son 
  introduced 
  a 
  female, 
  both 
  birds 
  living 
  in 
  the 
  Zoological 
  Gardens 
  in 
  

   London 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time. 
  The 
  male 
  was 
  apparently 
  too 
  old 
  to 
  breed. 
  After 
  some 
  

   hybrids 
  were 
  reared 
  from 
  the 
  female, 
  she 
  died 
  in 
  1840. 
  

  

  The 
  ultimate 
  successful 
  introduction 
  of 
  Reeves's 
  Pheasant 
  into 
  England 
  was 
  due 
  to 
  

   Messrs. 
  Stone 
  and 
  Medhurst, 
  the 
  latter 
  being 
  Consul 
  at 
  Hankow. 
  It 
  was 
  very 
  difficult 
  

   at 
  first 
  to 
  obtain 
  specimens, 
  and 
  for 
  years 
  efforts 
  were 
  made 
  in 
  vain 
  to 
  locate 
  living 
  birds 
  

   among 
  the 
  Chinese 
  of 
  northern 
  China. 
  Medhurst, 
  however, 
  with 
  his 
  thorough 
  know- 
  

   ledge 
  of 
  the 
  language, 
  at 
  last 
  made 
  certain 
  of 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  this 
  species, 
  and 
  success 
  was 
  

   attained 
  when 
  an 
  experienced 
  Chinese 
  collector, 
  armed 
  with 
  coloured 
  drawings 
  of 
  the 
  

   birds, 
  was 
  sent 
  into 
  the 
  field. 
  

  

  Even 
  then 
  ill-luck 
  attended 
  the 
  attempt, 
  and 
  only 
  a 
  single 
  male 
  bird 
  survived 
  from 
  

   the 
  first 
  three 
  lots 
  sent 
  home, 
  the 
  remainder 
  all 
  dying 
  before 
  they 
  reached 
  England. 
  

   This 
  cock 
  lived 
  three 
  months. 
  Of 
  the 
  fourth 
  lot 
  sent 
  from 
  Hankow, 
  seven 
  birds 
  reached 
  

   the 
  London 
  Zoological 
  Gardens, 
  and 
  since 
  then 
  Reeves 
  in 
  fair 
  numbers 
  have 
  almost 
  

   always 
  been 
  obtainable 
  from 
  dealers. 
  

  

  They 
  have 
  bred 
  freely 
  in 
  England, 
  France 
  and 
  Germany, 
  both 
  in 
  aviaries 
  and 
  at 
  

   large. 
  The 
  species 
  is 
  well 
  established 
  in 
  the 
  former 
  country, 
  and 
  specimens 
  are 
  often 
  

   seen 
  for 
  sale 
  in 
  the 
  markets, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  Japanese 
  and 
  ring-necked 
  pheasants. 
  

   The 
  first 
  record 
  of 
  breeding 
  in 
  the 
  London 
  Gardens 
  was 
  in 
  1867, 
  when 
  the 
  pheasants 
  

   began 
  laying 
  immediately 
  upon 
  arrival, 
  late 
  in 
  June, 
  and 
  four 
  young 
  birds 
  were 
  hatched 
  

   in 
  August. 
  

  

  Owing 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  only 
  certain 
  localities, 
  rugged, 
  broken, 
  mountainous 
  country, 
  

   are 
  adapted 
  for 
  the 
  successful 
  acclimatization 
  and 
  shooting 
  of 
  this 
  splendid 
  bird, 
  it 
  

   cannot 
  compare 
  with 
  the 
  success 
  of 
  the 
  ring-neck 
  as 
  an 
  introduced 
  species 
  in 
  Europe. 
  

   Millais 
  has 
  given 
  an 
  excellent 
  summary 
  (" 
  Natural 
  History 
  of 
  British 
  Game-birds," 
  1909) 
  

   of 
  the 
  present 
  status 
  of 
  Reeves's 
  Pheasant 
  in 
  England. 
  He 
  says 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  "of 
  such 
  a 
  

   warlike 
  disposition 
  in 
  spring 
  that 
  all 
  other 
  pheasants 
  quickly 
  give 
  it 
  a 
  wide 
  berth, 
  and 
  if 
  

   the 
  coverts 
  are 
  small 
  it 
  will 
  soon 
  drive 
  away 
  its 
  more 
  peaceful 
  neighbours. 
  Armed 
  with 
  

   spurs 
  of 
  unusual 
  length 
  and 
  sharpness, 
  the 
  cock 
  Reeves's 
  Pheasant 
  is 
  a 
  dangerous 
  bird, 
  

   even 
  to 
  its 
  own 
  species. 
  I 
  once 
  saw 
  a 
  cock, 
  in 
  the 
  late 
  Mr. 
  Cholmondeley's 
  aviaries 
  at 
  

   Condover, 
  kill 
  three 
  hens, 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  procured 
  from 
  China 
  at 
  great 
  expense, 
  in 
  as 
  

   many 
  minutes. 
  Two 
  were 
  struck 
  dead 
  instantaneously, 
  a 
  spur 
  entering 
  the 
  back 
  of 
  the 
  

   neck, 
  whilst 
  the 
  third 
  was 
  cut 
  open 
  down 
  the 
  back 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  way 
  that 
  it 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  

  

  