86 P. J. Lambert—The Pheasants at the Crystal Palace Show


day, in addition, of course, to the all-night brooding which most female

birds do. It seemed that shortly after the eggs hatched, the male found

the female more and more unwilling to entrust the care of her two

children to him. Not infrequently he would sit beside her for from

twenty to thirty minutes, ready to do his part in keeping the chicks

warm, but their mother would simply not be relieved of her duties. So

Mr. Harlequin left and took the rest of the day off.


It is quite apparent that the male of this particular pair of Harlequin

Doves does not take his home duties and work too seriously, arriving

at the nest anywhere between 7.40 and 9.40. Nor will he wait more

than thirty minutes for his mate to make up her mind as to whether

she wants to leave the nest or not. A handsome but lazy husband this

particular Harlequin, whose sense of time, while perhaps not remarkable,

is nevertheless well developed.


THE PHEASANTS AT THE CRYSTAL

PALACE SHOW


By P. J. Lambert


The Editor of the Avicultural Magazine has kindly asked me

to write a few lines on the Pheasants that were shown at the Crystal

Palace Show and I am very pleased to do so. First I will say that this

was an unqualified success. In only one case was a Pheasant’s plumage

disarranged, this was a Swinhoe cock, which bird had evidently caught

its tail in the bars of the pen, but I do not think the tail feathers were

actually broken. All the Pheasants shown did great credit to the

exhibitors. I wall just touch on a few of the winners. Naturally pride

of place must be given to the very handsome Edwards cock that won

the coveted prize, viz. the cup for the best Pheasant in the Show. This

was presented by our President, Mr. G. Blay, is called the “ Blay ”

Cup, and incidentally was won by Mr. G. Blay, surely a happy result ?

This cock was in perfect condition, for its plumage literally shone.

I use the word “ shone ” for the feathering of this beautiful cock

Pheasant would appear to do so. It is the great feature of a bird that

is not renowned for gay plumage. Several fanciers who had never

seen an Edwards cock before called my attention to the green lustre



