﻿REEVES'S 
  PHEASANT 
  153 
  

  

  at 
  once. 
  The 
  trees, 
  being 
  high 
  and 
  dense, 
  assist 
  their 
  elevation, 
  and 
  force 
  them 
  to 
  a 
  

   respectable 
  height 
  from 
  the 
  very 
  start. 
  

  

  " 
  Reeves's 
  Pheasant 
  has 
  the 
  power 
  to 
  stop 
  suddenly 
  when 
  travelling 
  at 
  its 
  full 
  speed, 
  

   which 
  may 
  be 
  estimated 
  at 
  nearly 
  double 
  that 
  of 
  an 
  ordinary 
  pheasant 
  ; 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  

   performed 
  by 
  an 
  extraordinary 
  movement 
  when 
  the 
  bird 
  makes 
  up 
  its 
  mind 
  to 
  alight 
  on 
  

   some 
  high 
  tree 
  that 
  has 
  taken 
  its 
  fancy. 
  This 
  bird 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  furnished 
  with 
  a 
  

   ' 
  Westinghouse 
  brake,' 
  in 
  the 
  shape 
  of 
  its 
  tail, 
  otherwise 
  the 
  feat 
  would 
  be 
  impossible. 
  

   By 
  a 
  sudden 
  and 
  complete 
  turn 
  of 
  the 
  body, 
  both 
  the 
  expanded 
  wings 
  and 
  tail 
  are 
  

   presented 
  as 
  a 
  resistance 
  to 
  the 
  air, 
  and 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  bird 
  is 
  reversed. 
  This 
  acts 
  

   as 
  an 
  immediate 
  buffer 
  and 
  brake, 
  and 
  by 
  this 
  means 
  the 
  bird 
  is 
  enabled 
  to 
  drop 
  head 
  

   downwards 
  into 
  a 
  tree 
  within 
  the 
  short 
  space 
  of 
  eight 
  or 
  ten 
  yards. 
  

  

  " 
  Lord 
  Ravens 
  worth, 
  in 
  writing 
  of 
  the 
  beauty 
  of 
  these 
  Inverness-shire 
  birds, 
  refers 
  to 
  

   their 
  difficulty 
  of 
  approach, 
  saying 
  that 
  they 
  take 
  to 
  their 
  legs 
  long 
  before 
  other 
  

   pheasants 
  are 
  conscious 
  of 
  danger. 
  That 
  is 
  quite 
  true, 
  for 
  they 
  seem 
  as 
  clever 
  as 
  deer 
  

   or 
  fox 
  to 
  notice 
  the 
  movements 
  of 
  men 
  in 
  their 
  vicinity. 
  One 
  remark 
  of 
  Lord 
  

   Ravensworth 
  requires 
  some 
  comment. 
  He 
  says 
  : 
  ' 
  Any 
  attempt 
  to 
  walk 
  up 
  to 
  them 
  in 
  

   brush 
  covert 
  is 
  utterly 
  hopeless, 
  for 
  they 
  are 
  exceedingly 
  vigilant 
  and 
  go 
  straight 
  off 
  

   like 
  a 
  dart, 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  six 
  feet 
  from 
  the 
  ground.' 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  cocks, 
  which 
  

   at 
  first 
  were 
  found 
  hidden 
  in 
  the 
  high 
  heather 
  and 
  juniper 
  adjoining 
  the 
  coverts, 
  rose 
  

   far 
  out 
  of 
  shot, 
  and 
  skimmed 
  away 
  to 
  shelter, 
  as 
  Lord 
  Ravensworth 
  describes, 
  but 
  I 
  

   noticed 
  that 
  many 
  one- 
  or 
  two-year-old 
  cocks 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  hens 
  sat 
  very 
  close, 
  and 
  

   rose 
  with 
  a 
  disconcerting 
  scream 
  at 
  our 
  feet, 
  and 
  at 
  such 
  times 
  they 
  obtained 
  an 
  

   elevation 
  similar 
  to 
  other 
  pheasants. 
  These 
  birds 
  were, 
  of 
  course, 
  not 
  shot, 
  but 
  allowed 
  

   to 
  pass 
  into 
  the 
  high 
  woods. 
  

  

  "... 
  It 
  is 
  quite 
  useless 
  to 
  turn 
  out 
  Reeves's 
  Pheasant 
  in 
  flat, 
  wooded 
  countries, 
  

   for 
  they 
  will 
  wander 
  across 
  a 
  country 
  as 
  easily 
  as 
  another 
  pheasant 
  will 
  stray 
  over 
  a 
  

   field. 
  A 
  friend 
  of 
  mine 
  in 
  north 
  Sussex 
  purchased 
  a 
  cock 
  Reeves's 
  Pheasant 
  from 
  a 
  

   breeder 
  of 
  birds, 
  who 
  lives 
  near 
  Brighton. 
  In 
  a 
  few 
  weeks 
  he 
  got 
  tired 
  of 
  his 
  purchase, 
  

   and 
  gave 
  the 
  bird 
  its 
  liberty. 
  It 
  stayed 
  about 
  the 
  farm 
  a 
  few 
  days, 
  and 
  was 
  noticed 
  to 
  

   be 
  missing 
  one 
  evening. 
  The 
  following 
  afternoon 
  it 
  was 
  observed 
  sitting 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  

   the 
  pheasant 
  pens 
  where 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  reared, 
  thirty 
  miles 
  distant." 
  

  

  As 
  we 
  have 
  seen, 
  Reeves's 
  Pheasant 
  readily 
  adapts 
  itself 
  to 
  suitable 
  country 
  

   many 
  thousands 
  of 
  miles 
  from 
  its 
  native 
  haunts, 
  its 
  dominant 
  characteristics 
  being 
  

   extreme 
  wariness, 
  strong, 
  rapid 
  and 
  prolonged 
  flight, 
  the 
  vernal 
  pugnacity 
  of 
  the 
  males 
  

   and 
  an 
  unwillingness 
  to 
  cross 
  with 
  species 
  of 
  true 
  Phasianus. 
  

  

  In 
  closer 
  captivity, 
  when 
  the 
  birds 
  are 
  confined 
  in 
  aviaries, 
  we 
  find 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  

   qualities 
  emphasized, 
  while 
  others 
  disappear. 
  Like 
  many 
  creatures 
  which 
  are 
  exceedingly 
  

   wild 
  when 
  given 
  even 
  partial 
  freedom, 
  these 
  birds 
  often 
  become 
  absurdly 
  tame 
  when 
  

   confined 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  run 
  and 
  fed 
  regularly 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  person. 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  a 
  cock 
  perch 
  

   unconcernedly 
  on 
  the 
  knees 
  of 
  its 
  keeper, 
  taking 
  meal-worms 
  from 
  his 
  hand, 
  and 
  yet 
  

   half 
  an 
  hour 
  after 
  this 
  bird 
  had 
  been 
  turned 
  out 
  into 
  a 
  large 
  paddock, 
  it 
  was 
  almost 
  as 
  

   wary 
  and 
  unapproachable 
  as 
  if 
  in 
  its 
  oriental 
  haunts. 
  Conversely, 
  when 
  again 
  confined 
  

   in 
  the 
  autum, 
  its 
  fearlessness 
  returned 
  as 
  abruptly 
  as 
  it 
  had 
  departed. 
  

  

  Although 
  hens 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  show 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  distinction 
  of 
  plumage 
  from 
  fully 
  adult 
  

   birds, 
  yet 
  their 
  egg-laying 
  ability, 
  at 
  least 
  in 
  captivity, 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  limited. 
  In 
  an 
  

  

  VOL. 
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