THE COMMON PHEASANT 
little doubt that the common pheasant in a wild state is polygamous, 
and though a male may be met with in company with a female and her 
brood, he is not necessarily the parent bird, but merely a “ hanger on.” 
Writing of Strauch’s pheasant, P. strauchi^ which inhabits parts of the 
province of Kansu, in China, the Russian traveller Prjevalsky, who was 
the first to discover and describe the species, tells us that the young are 
“ always accompanied by both parents, and that very often the male 
bird defends the young even more vigorously than the female.” It was 
on this evidence, practically the only reliable information to be found 
on the breeding habits of any pheasant in a wild state, that I suggested 
that the usually polygamous habits of our common pheasant had pro- 
bably been acquired. As in this country, wild pheasants begin to pair in 
March, the cock birds engaging in fierce combats, which sometimes 
end fatally for the weaker bird, the victor remaining at the head of five 
or more hens. The males use much the same methods of fighting as game- 
fowls : they spring into the air and try to strike one another on the head 
with their spurs, which are fairly long and sharp in old birds. The hens, 
too, often fight fiercely with one another in spring, and utter a low growling 
note when about to engage an adversary. The male loves to display his 
beautiful plumage to the females. After stalking majestically about before 
the particular bird he wishes to captivate, with scarlet face -wattles 
inflated, ear-tufts erected, and his plumage all puffed out, he lowers his 
head and neck, droops and extends the wing on the side nearest the female, 
and at the same time expands the feathers of the rump and tail, turning 
the latter half over so as to show off its beautiful colour and markings 
to the fullest extent. Thus he struts past the hen, who often displays 
a lamentable indifference, real or assumed; but, nothing daunted, he 
turns about and shows the other side of his brilliant body till she is finally 
subjugated. At such times the cock pheasant makes use of a gentle croon- 
ing note, something like that made by poultry when feeding contentedly. 
When the pairing -season is over the hens leave the cock and devote 
themselves to the duties of incubation, and the latter, except in rare 
instances, where pheasants are scarce, takes no further interest in any of 
them. , 
Nest . — In the Caucasus the hen pheasant is said to make her nest, as 
a rule, in thick reeds or other dense undergrowth, choosing the driest 
piece of ground she can find. Having fixed on a suitable spot, and lined 
it with soft grass or reeds, she lays from ten to fifteen eggs between April 
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