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A. Rampton—Waterfowl at South Lake , Woodley



80 per cent of Fire-backs and Argus are either killed or seriously maimed

in the catching. The birds are caught with fine nooses and if held

by the neck the bird is soon strangled ; if caught by the legs the struggles

of these large and very strong birds soon dislocate the limbs. I think

there is a great deal of needless cruelty in the trapping of these large

Pheasants and it is a great pity that these attractive breeds cannot,

like the commoner species of Pheasants, be established in this country.

The trouble is that they cannot stand the cold winters in this country

without heat. Also the number of eggs laid in a season by these birds

is very small, especially by the Argus, whose normal clutch is only two,

which is strange considering the enemies these birds have in their

native forest which, before the advent of Man to the forests of Malaya,

swarmed with carnivorous mammals and huge snakes. A bird’s egg-

laying capacity is usually regulated by the number of enemies which

prey on certain species ; for instance, such birds as Eagles which

have few or no natural enemies, lay but one or two eggs in a season,

while such birds as Partridges will lay more.


Yet in spite of the small families of the Argus Pheasants, these

were and still are quite plentiful in the forested areas in Malaya. I think

the protective colouring of the female has a great deal to do with the

preservation of this species, for of all the Pheasants her colouring

would render her practically invisible in the dark forests, the wonderful

mottling giving the general aspect of a dark shadow broken up by light

filtering in through the forest leaves.


{To be continued)



WATERFOWL AT SOUTH LAKE, WOODLEY


By A. Rampton


Having two fairly large sheets of water, on which—or at any rate

on one of which—there congregate in winter some thousands of wild

Duck, we had long decided that a few ornamental waterfowl would

provide a welcome attraction, especially in the summer months when

all the Duck, with the exception of a few Mallard, depart. But it was

not until the autumn of 1935 that we actually bought any birds.



