14 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
great stateliness. After a few manoeuvres of this kind, he 
begins to strike with his stiffened wings in short and quick 
strokes, which become more and more rapid until they run 
into each other as has been already described. This is 
most common in the morning and evening, though I have 
heard them drumming at all hours of the day. By means 
of this, the gunner is led to the place of his retreat; though 
to those unacquainted with the sound, there is great decep- 
tion in the supposed distance, it generally appearing to be 
much nearer than it really is. 
The Pheasant begins to pair in April, and builds its nest 
early in May. This is placed on the ground at the root of 
a bush, old log, or other sheltered and solitary situation, 
well surrounded with withered leaves. Unlike that of the 
Quail, it is open above, and is usually composed of dry 
leaves and grass. The eggs are from nine to fifteen in 
number, of a brownish white, without any spots, and 
nearly as large as those of a pullet. The young leave the 
nest as soon as hatched, and are directed by the cluck of 
the mother, very much in the manner of the common hen. 
On being surprised, she exhibits all the distress and affec- 
tionate manoeuvres of the Quail, and of most other birds, 
to lead you away from the spot. I once started a hen 
Pheasant, with a single young one, seemingly only a few 
days old; there might have been more, but I observed 
only this one. The mother fluttered before me for a 
moment, but suddenly darting towards the young one, 
seized it in her bill, and flew off along the surface through 
the woods, with great steadiness and rapidity, till she was 
beyond my sight, leaving me in great surprise at the inci- 
dent. I made a very close and active search around the 
spot for the rest, but without success. Here was a striking 
instance of something more than what is termed blind 
instinct, in this remarkable deviation from her usual 
manoeuvres, when she has a numerous brood. It would 
have been impossible for me to injure this affectionate 
mother, who had exhibited such an example of presence of 
mind, reason, and sound judgment, as must have convinced 
the most bigotted advocates of mere instinct. To carry 
off a whole brood in this manner, at once, would have been 
impossible, and to attempt to save one at the expense of 
the rest, would be unnatural. She therefore usually takes 
the only possible mode of saving them in that case, by de- 
coying the person in pursuit of herself, by such a natural 
imitation of lameness as to impose on most people. But 
here, in the case of a single solitary young one, she in- 
stantly altered her plan, and adopted the most simple and 
effectual mean for its preservation. 
The Pheasant generally springs within a few yards, with 
a loud whirring noise, and flies with great vigour through 
the woods, beyond the reach of view, before it alights. 
With a good dog, however, they are easily found; and 
sometimes exhibit a singular degree of infatuation, by 
looking down, from the branches where they sit, on the 
dog below, who, the more noise he keeps up, seems the 
more to confuse and stupify them, so that they may be shot I 
down, one by one, till the whole are killed, without 
attempting to fly off. In such cases, those on the lower 
limbs must be taken first, for should the upper ones be first 
killed, in their fall they alarm those below, who imme- 
diately fly off. This plan is more usually followed by 
persons residing amongst the mountains, and who are 
unskilled in shooting on the wing; and the dogs employed 
by them, are of the springing spaniel, or of some small 
breed addicted to much barking. But in the lower coun- 
tries and by sportsmen, the Pheasant is hunted with setter 
or pointer dogs, and is a very difficult bird to shoot in con- 
sequence of its great shyness, as it most commonly keeps 
in the thickest cover, and will fly at the near approach of 
the dog or sportsman, unless indeed the dog be particularly 
trained to this kind of hunting. They are pretty hard to 
kill, and will often carry off a large load to the distance of 
two hundred yards, and drop dead. This bird, after its 
first or second flight, still finding itself pursued, often 
resorts to stratagem by either taking shelter in the fork of 
some tree, where it will remain immoveable, and suffer its 
enemy to pass immediately under it, or it will settle at the 
root of some thick bush or tree, and remain so until almost 
trodden upon; it will then rise, and darting off behind this 
intervening object, completely elude its pursuer. 
In deep snows they are usually taken in traps, commonly 
dead traps, supported by a figure 4 trigger; at this season, 
when suddenly alarmed, they will frequently dive into the 
snow, particularly when it has newly fallen, and coming 
out at a considerable distance, again take wing. Another 
manner of catching these birds, is by fencing off with dead 
brush-wood to the height of three or four feet, some narrow 
thicket generally resorted to by them, and leaving it im- 
passable except through several holes placed at regular 
distances, into which nooses made of horse-hair are sus- 
pended; the Pheasant, after -running along the fence, finds 
no other passage, attempts to get through these holes, and 
is almost sure to fall a victim to these artifices of the country 
boys. Sometimes in the depth of winter they approach 
the farm house, and lurk near the barn, or about the 
garden. They have also been often taken young and 
tamed, so as to associate with the fowls; and their eggs 
have frequently been hatched under the common hen; but 
these rarely survive until full grown. They are exceed- - 
ingly fond of the seeds of grapes; occasionally eat ants, j 
chesnuts, black berries, and various vegetables, and in the 
spring of the year the tender buds of the young sassafras. 
