OF BIRDS. 
183 
and sometimes appears to change to blue, as it is dif- 
ferently presented to the eye of the spectator. The 
plumage on the breast, the shoulders, the middle of the 
back, and the sides under the wings, have a blackish 
ground, with edges tinged of an exquisite purple, and 
under this is a transverse streak of gold colour. The 
I length of the tail, from the middle feathers to the root 
I is about eighteen inches. The plumage of the female, 
however, is inferior to that of the male. 
The pheasant is said to have been first brought into 
Europe from the banks of the Phasis, in Asia Minor, 
and to have been at first artificially propagated in Eu- 
rope. However, notwithstanding the coidnes of the 
climate, and the tenderness of its constitution, it has mul- 
tiplied in a wild state; and, as if disdaining the protec- 
tion of man, has left him, to take shelter in the thickest 
woods and the remotest forests. In fact, this spirit of 
independence seems to attend the pheasant even in cap- 
tivity. In the woods the female lays from eighteen to 
twenty eggs in a season; but in a domestic state she sel- 
dom produces above ten. In this manner, when wild, 
she hatches and brings up her brood with patience, vigi- 
lance, and attention; but when kept tame, she sits so ill, 
that a hen is generally her substitute upon such occa- 
sions. On all accounts, therefore, this bird seems better 
adapted to range at large in the woods than to be brought 
up in a state of captivity. Its fecundity, when wild, is 
sufficient to stock the forest: its beautiful plumage adorns 
it; and its flesh acquires a higher and more delicious 
flavour from its unlimited freedom. 
Of this, as of all other domestic fowl, there are several 
varieties; such as white, crested, and spotted pheasants; 
but, of all others, the golden pheasant of China is the 
most beautiful. 
The pheasant is met with throughout the United 
States, but chiefly in the more elevated and northern dis- 
tricts. According to Mr. Wilson, it is common at 
Moose fort, on Hudson’s Bay, lat. 51°. It is frequent in 
the upper parts of Georgia; very abundant in Kentucky, 
and the Indianna territory; and was met with by cap- 
