THE PHEASANT. 
465 
Between these “eyes” some leopard-like mottlings diversify the rich, fawn of the ground 
color, and outside them four wavy bands of dark brown run along the feather towards the 
edge, breaking up into spots about an inch before they reach the edge. The inner web is pale 
fawn covered with black spots, surrounded with buff, and the tip of the whole feather is deep 
brown, spotted profusely with white. The shaft is black at its base, and yellow towards its 
termination. 
In another feather both webs are marked just like a leopard, with dark spots on a fawn 
ground, only the spots are arranged in diagonal rows. But along the shaft runs a band, about 
three-quarters of an inch wide, of rich chocolate, profusely speckled with the tiniest white 
spots, also arranged in rows. This band does not quite extend to the end of the feather, 
which at its tip is pale fawn very sparingly studded with deep brown rosettes, surrounded 
with chestnut. These are but two feathers, and I might take twenty as wonderful. In the 
female the secondary feathers, instead of measuring nearly a yard in length, are little more 
than a foot, and the eyes are much more obscure. The Argus Pheasant inhabits Sumatra and 
neighboring localities. 
The well-known Pheasant affords a triumphant instance of the success with which a 
bird of a strange country may be acclimatized to another with some little assistance from 
its owner. 
Originally the Pheasant was an inhabitant of Asia Minor, and has been by degrees intro- 
duced into many European countries, where its beauty of form and plumage and the delicacy 
of its flesh made it a welcome visitor. In northern countries, it is probably dependent to a 
great extent on “preserves ” for its existence, as, even putting aside the marauding attacks of 
poachers, whether biped or quadruped, the bird requires much shelter and plenty of food. 
Even with the precautions that are taken by the owners of preserves, the breed is to some 
degree artificially kept up by the hatching of Pheasant’s eggs under domestic hens, and feed- 
ing them in the coop like ordinary chickens, until they are old and strong enough to get their 
own living. 
The food of this bird is extremely varied. When young it is generally fed on ants’ eggs, 
maggots, grits, and similar food, but when it is fully grown it is possessed of an accommodating 
appetite, and will eat many kinds of seeds, roots, and leaves. The tubers of the common 
buttercup form a considerable item in its diet, and the bird will also eat beans, peas, acorns, 
berries of various kinds, and has even been known to eat the ivy leaf as well as the berry. 
The Pheasant is a ground-loving bird, running with great speed, and always preferring to 
trust to its legs rather than its wings. It is a crafty creature, and when alarmed, instead of 
rising on the wing, it slips quietly out of sight behind a bush or through a hedge, and then 
runs away with astonishing rapidity, always remaining under cover until it reaches some spot 
where it deems itself to be safe. The male Pheasant is not in the least given to the domestic 
affections, passing a kind of independent existence during part of the year, and associating 
with others of its own sex during the rest of the season. It is a very combative bird, and can 
maintain a stout fight even with a barn-door cock. When the two fight, an event of no very 
unfrequent occurrence, the Pheasant often gets the better of the combat by his irregular mode 
of proceeding. After making two or three strokes, up goes the Pheasant into a tree to breathe 
awhile, leaving the cock looking about for his antagonist. Presently, while his opponent is 
still bewildered, down comes the Pheasant again, makes another stroke and retires to his 
branch. The cock gets so puzzled at this mode of fighting that he often yields the point. 
It is rather curious that the Pheasant should display so great a tendency to mate with 
birds of other species. Hybrids between the Pheasant and common hen are by no means 
uncommon, and the peculiar form and color of the plumage, together with the wild and sus- 
picious mien, are handed down through several generations. The grouse is also apt to mate 
with the Pheasant, and even the tnrkey and the guinea fowl are mentioned among the mem- 
bers of these curious alliances. 
As these pages are not intended for sporting purposes, the art and mystery of Pheasant 
shooting will be left unnoticed. The ingenious mode employed by Mr. Waterton for the 
Vol. n.— 59. 
