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Hans Stefani—Eared Pheasants



existence in small enclosures. They are the tamest of all the Pheasants,

and are beautiful ornaments to large gardens. They do not scratch,

but they do, with their beaks, search the ground for anything edible ;

but the slight amount of damage which they do in this way is scarcely

perceptible in a big garden.


The trained glance of the experienced attendant can draw certain

conclusions with regard to the sex in the case of the Brown Crossoptilon,

even when they are young. The fact is that the hen for the most part

holds her wings more carelessly than the cock, who is in the habit of

carrying his wings a little higher, so that in his case the white area on

the back appears narrower than with the hen. There is also a difference

in size, the cock being slightly the larger and he has a somewhat broader

head than the hen. All these features, however, do not guarantee

against wrong conclusions, the only sure sign of the cock being the

spur, but this is missing in his youth.


Crossoptilon auritum , the Blue Eared Pheasant, is one of the greatest

rarities among Pheasants. Its original home is in the province of Kansu

in Central China, and the easterly part of Tibet. It only breeds in

a limited way ; in a free wild life broods of only six or seven chickens

are observed, of which, of course, again only a small proportion escapes

all dangers and attains the age of reproduction. Its greatest enemy,

however, is man, because the natives are always after him, on account

of his tail feathers being used as ornaments for the helmets of high

Chinese officers. As only the four middle feathers can be made use of

in this way, the bird, in consequence of being constantly hunted,

has already become a rarity even in its own homeland. It is

unfortunately only too likely that it will be exterminated in a not

far distant future.


But the difficulty of obtaining this bird is not easily overcome ;

its home has neither navigable waterways nor railways. As the only

means of conveyance, there is the caravan journey on the shoulders

of coolies during which the birds, newly caught, have to be conveyed

over distances of more than 1,000 km. before a ship or a railway receives

them and carries them to a Chinese port. For months they are exposed

to the strain of a caravan journey, shut up in small carrying-baskets,

which render any movement of the birds impossible, and transmits



