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  BIRDS. 
  

  

  Forres. 
  It 
  is 
  said 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  at 
  one 
  time 
  abundant 
  in 
  Tarn- 
  

   away 
  and 
  the 
  lower 
  coverts. 
  The 
  New 
  Statistical 
  Account 
  says 
  : 
  — 
  

   £ 
  A 
  few 
  years 
  ago, 
  prior 
  to 
  1845, 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  good 
  show 
  of 
  

   Pheasants 
  in 
  Troup 
  plantations, 
  but 
  the 
  quantities 
  of 
  vermin 
  at 
  

   that 
  time 
  are 
  supposed 
  to 
  have 
  decimated 
  them. 
  Pheasants 
  oc- 
  

   curred 
  — 
  i.e. 
  had 
  been 
  turned 
  down 
  — 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  in 
  our 
  area 
  

   as 
  Conon 
  ' 
  (op. 
  cit, 
  vol. 
  xiv. 
  p. 
  368). 
  

  

  When 
  Brown, 
  gamekeeper 
  at 
  Rothiemay, 
  was 
  lifting 
  Pheasants' 
  

   eggs 
  in 
  1892 
  amongst 
  heather, 
  he 
  found 
  eggs 
  so 
  placed 
  to 
  be 
  blotched 
  

   or 
  speckled 
  with 
  brown. 
  We 
  have 
  not 
  seen 
  any 
  such 
  eggs, 
  but 
  

   Brown 
  seemed 
  sure 
  they 
  were 
  true 
  colour-markings, 
  and 
  not, 
  as 
  

   we 
  suspected, 
  only 
  colour-stains. 
  

  

  Pheasants 
  are 
  not 
  largely 
  reared 
  in 
  the 
  districts 
  of 
  Spey 
  where 
  

   there 
  are 
  swarms 
  of 
  ants 
  and 
  ant-hills, 
  which 
  one 
  would 
  suppose 
  

   would 
  prove 
  delectable 
  feeding 
  for 
  the 
  birds. 
  A 
  few 
  occur 
  about 
  

   Tomatin. 
  They 
  are 
  rare 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  pine 
  forests, 
  where 
  they 
  do 
  

   not 
  succeed 
  well, 
  and 
  where 
  rearing 
  has 
  been 
  to 
  a 
  large 
  extent 
  

   abandoned, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  commoner 
  in 
  the 
  smaller 
  coverts, 
  where 
  

   they 
  find 
  more 
  encouragement. 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  Pheasants 
  are 
  reared 
  about 
  Dunachtonmore, 
  near 
  Kin- 
  

   craig 
  (William 
  Evans, 
  Scottish 
  Naturalist, 
  January 
  1891); 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  

   woods 
  which 
  stretch 
  along 
  the 
  edge 
  and 
  west 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  Culbin 
  

   Sands, 
  by 
  Loch 
  Loy 
  and 
  Loch 
  of 
  Litie, 
  Pheasants 
  are 
  not 
  scarce, 
  

   many, 
  however, 
  being 
  hand-reared 
  on 
  Major 
  Chadwick's 
  and 
  

   adjoining 
  property. 
  They 
  are 
  also 
  abundant 
  on 
  Gordon 
  Castle 
  

   grounds, 
  and 
  among 
  the 
  gorse- 
  and 
  broom-covered 
  banks 
  of 
  Spey- 
  

   side. 
  

  

  [Obs. 
  — 
  Phasianus 
  reevesi, 
  Gray. 
  Reeve's 
  Pheasant. 
  — 
  The 
  first 
  

   year 
  these 
  birds 
  were 
  tried 
  at 
  Guisachan 
  twenty 
  odd 
  birds 
  were 
  

   reared. 
  These 
  kept 
  together 
  until 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  October, 
  when 
  

   all 
  left, 
  except 
  some 
  three 
  or 
  four. 
  These 
  birds, 
  instead 
  of 
  

   going 
  straight 
  down 
  the 
  valley, 
  took 
  across 
  the 
  mountain 
  ranges, 
  

   some 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  very 
  high, 
  and 
  were 
  found 
  at 
  Brahan 
  and 
  

   Contin. 
  On 
  one 
  occasion 
  a 
  hen 
  was 
  shot 
  by 
  a 
  gentleman 
  shooting 
  

   Ptarmigan. 
  Since 
  then 
  Lord 
  Tweedmouth 
  has 
  been 
  more 
  success- 
  

   ful, 
  and 
  the 
  birds 
  are 
  now 
  thoroughly 
  acclimatised, 
  though 
  even 
  

   yet 
  they 
  are 
  inclined 
  to 
  wander 
  down 
  the 
  strath. 
  They 
  are 
  more 
  

   gregarious 
  than 
  the 
  common 
  kind. 
  The 
  cocks 
  in 
  the 
  breeding 
  

   season 
  keep 
  pretty 
  well 
  together, 
  and 
  also 
  the 
  young 
  birds 
  when 
  

  

  