844 
TIMIDITY OF THE PHEASANT. 
cannot claim our admiration. A French writer gravely says, that 
none of the pheasants are capable of taking, at the right moment, the 
right decision. As this, however, may be said of most men, it might 
not in itself be considered a proof of intellectual inferiority ; but, sooth 
to say, the Colchican bird does not rank high among feathered sages. 
Let us place to his credit his love of freedom. When he has found a 
locality which suits his taste, he establishes himself there ; but he 
delights to make continual excursions in the neighbourhood. Con- 
scious of his feebleness, of his incapacity to defend himself against 
more powerful animals, he seeks retirement as much as possible. He 
can never be thorough]}^ tamed, for he does not learn to distinguish 
his master from any other person, and his idea is that everybody 
is an enemy, whom he ought to fly. He is constantly apprehensive, 
because he is not clever enough to conceal himself when danger 
threatens. 
It would be difficult, says Winkell, to find a wild animal whom one 
can so easily put to discomfiture, and render incapable of taking a 
decisive resolution. If he be surprised by a man or a dog, he seems no 
longer able to remember that nature has given him wings with which 
to save himself; he remains motionless, hiding his head, or rans dis- 
tractedly from one side to another. Nothing is more perilous for him 
tlian the vicinity of a stream of water. If he wanders on to its bank, 
he remains there with eye fixed on the wave, and takes no heed though 
his wings should be so soaked and bedraggled as to be unfitted for 
flight. Winkell surprised a pheasant in such a situation ; but instead 
of making any attempt to escape, he advanced further into the water. 
When his feet no longer touched the bottom, he allowed himself to 
drift, with wings widely extended, patiently awaiting death. The 
naturalist, however, was a man of humanity, and with the help of 
a hook brought the melancholy would-be suicide to the bank, and 
rescued him. We have never met with any attempt to explain this 
curious infatuation. Is it due to timidity ? Does the bird mistake 
the reflection of his figure in the water for an enemy ? It is, at any 
rate, certain that he shows even greater helplessness and passive sub- 
mission to an unwelcome destiny when pursued by some carnivore, — 
