132 C. Scott-Hopkins—The Charm of Pheasant-keeping


get going and import these birds before it is too late. I am glad that

Miss Grant-Ives mentioned this in her weekly notes in Cage Birds.

I lay much stress on this point. By the way, talking of Cage Birds,

I am delighted to see so many Pheasants advertised for sale in this

weekly paper. I hope before another year or two we shall see several

of the rare varieties changing hands through the medium of this most

useful paper. Another advantage we Pheasant lovers hope to gain,

and that is that we shall be able to correspond with each other and

exchange birds and thereby get fresh blood into our aviaries. With

many of the rarer varieties this is most essential. So much in-breeding

means sickly chicks, weak constitutions, and malformed feet. I could

quote numerous instances of this. I will just mention one. M. Delacour

was the first and only importer of the very rare Imperial Pheasant,

with the result that this Pheasant is terribly in-bred by now. This also

applies in a lesser degree to the Edward’s and the Elliot. All these birds,

I believe, were first brought into this country by M. Delacour. We,

indeed, owe a debt of gratitude to this gentleman. I am glad to say

that Mr. Lambert has been able to import some Elliots from America

this winter, which arrived here in good condition. These birds, of

course, will be unrelated to those in this country. I have taken

advantage of this importation and purchased a pair. I am very fond

of this Pheasant. He is a hardy fellow, very beautiful, easy to rear,

and easy to sell. I gave £25 for my first pair, you can now buy a pair

for £10. They have an added attraction in that they attain full

plumage the first year. I recommend this species to a beginner.

Talking of importing Pheasants, I have at this moment well over

£100 worth of Pheasants on their way to this country from India,

from where so many of our most beautiful Pheasants come. The

Satyr Tragopan, which takes pride of place in my estimation, hails

from India. He is a gem and will eat from your hand a month or less

after arriving in this country. The Monaul or Impeyan, the Cheer,

and the Koklas all come from the same part of the world. My consign¬

ment consists of all these species, but mostly Tragopans.


It is unfortunately, with few exceptions, the only means of pro¬

curing these lovely birds. There are few in this country and they are

not good breeders. If anyone wants to do a really good turn to the



