Sydney Porter—Wanderings in the Far East



41



Szechuan is estimated at sixty millions, but the population does not

reach up to where the Pheasants make their homes. The mountains

are covered with dense vegetation as far as the snow-line, principally

with rhododendron. None of the Pheasants live together in the same

territory, but in areas quite remote from each other. In no case,

declared my informant, are the Pheasants very rare, but simply wild and

very elusive. They are not in any way persecuted by the natives, as

they have not yet been contaminated by European influence, the only

exception being the Chinese Impeyan, but even in this case it is not to

any great extent. There is a local trade in the dried bodies of this bird,

but it is not enough to affect seriously the status of the species. These

dried bodies, which are used for eating, weigh roughly about 5J lb.,

the live birds turning the scale at 8 lb. and more. The climate of these

regions is mild in the valleys but cold as one gets higher up the

mountains. In the summer the birds move high up the mountains to

about 12,000 feet to near the limit of vegetation ; in the winter they

move down to about 7,000 to 8,000 feet. This Pheasant (the Chinese

Impeyan) is known to the natives as the “ Fire-charcoal bird ”, not

as I thought on account of its glowing ember and black plumage, but

owing to the fact that when the natives fire a certain area so that they

can plant fresh gardens the birds come down after the fire and eat the

charcoal. For food these Impeyans live to a great extent on a certain

white berry, which is also eaten by the Chinese of the district. The

birds also eat roots and insects. When once caught the bird is hardy

and peaceful, and is not given to fighting. Eight birds in all were

secured.


The White Crossoptilon lives even higher up than the Impeyan,

almost right up to the snow-line, but it does not live amongst the snow,

as its glistening white plumage would seem to indicate. It is not

uncommon but excessively wary and difficult to obtain. The greatest

difficulty in procuring any of these Pheasants is the utter

inaccessibility of their haunts. Some of the places where these birds

were collected were 2,200 miles inland from the coast. The Chinese are

hostile to all foreigners, and the officials place every difficulty in the

way. After journeying right through China to the home of the Pheasants

over 2,000 miles from Shanghai, the collector was called back by the



