84 The Natural History of British Game Birds 
The hen Pheasant seems to have three distinct calls. The first may be described as 
a peevish whistle, which she uses on being frightened or flushed. The second is only 
emitted when handled and under extreme fear, like the words " ee-ac, ee-ac." The 
third note is heard when two hens are fighting, as they often do in spring. They make 
a purring sound when angry or actually in fight. When about to engage in battle, 
two hens lower their tails, spread them, and walk round and round each other, uttering 
this strange note. 
The Pheasant is a bird that passes most of its existence on the ground, and seldom 
flies except to cross ravines or in going to roost. In the early morning they work out 
from the wood, and if undisturbed spend the greater part of the day in the open, on the 
sunny side of the cover ; when food is scarce they get farther and farther away as the day 
advances, and if then disturbed invariably rise and fly homewards, unless very close to 
the wood. 
The flight is strong, but not of long duration, and even with the assistance of the 
wind seldom exceeds half a mile. The elevation is entirely due to the obstacles it 
has to surmount on its way to the point of alighting. Thus a bird that is flushed on 
flat lands from woods will not rise higher than is necessary to clear the trees ; whilst, 
on the other hand, a skilful keeper may cause Pheasants to rise to a height of 30 yards 
off a flat field, provided a wood behind the guns contains higher timber which it is 
necessary for the birds to " top " on entering. Pheasants seldom fly at a greater 
elevation than 100 feet, unless when crossing depressions. The pace varies from 20 
to 30 miles an hour. As the bird rises the legs are bent and lifted, and when the 
necessary elevation is attained they are held straight under the tail. The head and neck 
are held straight out and the tail slightly spread. On reaching the end of a cover they 
strike the intervening small boughs and twigs in the act of descent, which is practi- 
cally a skilful "fall" to the earth, and then run for some distance before beginning to 
look about and take their bearings. On sunny days Pheasants are often deceived on 
flying towards large houses by the reflection of the landscape in plate-glass windows. 
I have twice seen Pheasants crash through windows : once in Scotland, where a cock 
came with such force as to kill itself on the opposing wall ; and once at Warnham 
Court, in Sussex, where the bird, a hen, though at first stunned, seemed little the 
worse of the accident. There are so many instances of similar accidents it is unneces- 
sary to record them. I have more than once seen two Pheasants flying from opposite 
directions collide but without hurting each other. Mr. Purey J. Howes, however, 
records an instance (Field, November 10, 1908) of two Pheasants striking in mid-air, 
and both being picked up dead. 
The small size of the wings are not adapted for prolonged flight ; but that Pheasants 
are capable of flying for considerable distances is clearly shown by that excellent field 
naturalist, the late Mr. John Cordeaux, who states : — 
"When shooting- in the marshes on the Lincolnshire side of the Humber, near Grimsby, 
a man who works on the sea embankment came to say that two pheasants had just flown 
over from the Yorkshire side, alighting within a few feet of where he was working among 
the rough grass on the bank. On going to the spot indicated, I at once found and 
shot them ; they were both hens, and in very good condition. The Humber at this place 
