The Common Pheasant 93 
it is nearly always the male who does the murder, for he is of a very savage and 
jealous disposition during the breeding season. I have seen cock water-hens attack 
and drive off any birds that come near their broods. They will even rush at and peck 
a swan. The kestrel is a much maligned bird, but as in the case of the rook and the 
weasel it is again the individual only that is the culprit. A young Pheasant running 
in the grass must be very like a vole, so that we are not surprised if the little falcon 
sometimes makes mistakes, even when they are done on purpose. On the whole, 
kestrels may be said to do little harm and a great deal of good. 1 
With all the details concerning the management of Pheasants in aviaries, and the 
rearing of young birds in the open, the naturalist has little to do, whilst elaborate 
instructions on the subject are to be found in many excellent books, notably Teget- 
meier's Pheasants, and in the pages of the Field and Country Life. Pheasant shoot- 
ing also and the management of coverts are subjects which have already been treated 
ad nauseam. To be successful, a man must have practical experience. Books and 
papers will give many excellent hints, but they can do little compared with the know- 
ledge gained in the fields of practice. 
Pheasants are liable to a variety of diseases which are, for the most part, due to 
overcrowding in unsuitable surroundings, in-breeding, ill-drained soils, wet seasons, &c. 
When diseases begin they soon become infectious, and rapidly spreading will some- 
times kill off most of the young stock. "Gapes" is due to the presence of small red- 
worms {Syngamus trachealis) which infest the windpipe. The life history of these 
gapeworms has been fully described by Dr. Spencer Cobbold and Mr. Theobald. It 
is a very catching disease, as young fowls, Pheasants, &c, will be attacked if they feed 
on soil where the ova of the worms are present. There are various remedies for the 
disease, which are fully described in Tegetmeier's Pheasants (p. 135). It is not generally 
known that "gapes" are communicated from field to field by sparrows and starlings. 
Another common disease, known as the " cramps," has been fully described by Professor 
Klein. The young bird is usually attacked in the second or third week of life. The 
disease commences with lameness in one leg, next day the other leg is affected, and the 
bird sits motionless. When this occurs on the third day, on examination the thigh 
bones or legs are found to be soft or even broken, with great extravasation of blood. 
Microscopic examination shows that the interior of the bone is highly inflamed by the 
presence of bacilli, which Dr. Klein asserts are highly infectious. The only cure seems 
to be to destroy and burn young birds so affected, and to remove coops to higher and 
drier ground. A very full description of this disease was published by Dr. Klein in 
the columns of the Field. 
Another disease which carries off many Pheasants and partridges is fowl enteritis, 
which is too well known to be described. This, again, is due to rearing Pheasants 
on ground where fowls have been for too long. There is now a practice, both in the 
eastern counties and in the Midlands, of putting fowls out in houses in the open 
stubbles. This is often a fatal source of spreading disease amongst both partridges and 
1 "This season" (1909), writes Mr. H. Wormald, "the Kestrel has done much damage in Norfolk. I know of three 
'rearing' fields at various distances, from 5 to 15 miles apart, where these falcons have caused much havoc amongst the 
young Pheasants." 
