is by no means deficient in the contrivances that are necessary for its own preservation.

At the commencement of cold weather, Pheasants fly after sun-set into the branches of the oak-trees, and there roost during the night. This they do more frequently as the winter advances, and the trees lose their foliage. The male birds, at these times, make a noise, which they repeat three or four times successively, called by sportsmen cocketing. The hens, on flying up, utter one shrill whistle, and then are silent. Poachers avail themselves of these notes, to discover the roosting places; and there (in woods that are not well watched) they shoot them with the greatest certainty. Where woods are watched, the poacher, by means of phosphorus, lights several brimstone matches; and the moment the sulphureous fumes reach the birds, they drop to the ground. Or he fastens a snare of wire' to the end of a long pole; and, by means of this, drags them, one by one, from the trees. He sometimes catches these birds in nooses made of wire, or twisted horsehair, or even with a brier set in the form of a noose, at the verge of a wood. The birds entangle themselves in these, as they run into the adjacent fields to feed. Foxes destroy great numbers of Pheasants.

The males begin to crow during the first week in March; and the noise can be heard at a considerable distance. They occasionally come into farm-yards in the vicinity of coverts where they abound, and sometimes produce a cross breed with the common fowls.

It has been contended that Pheasants are so shy, as not to be tamed without great difficulty. Where, however, their natural fear of man has been counteracted, from their having been bred under his protection; and where he has almost constantly appeared before their eyes in their coverts, they will come to feed immediately on hearing the keeper's whistle. They will follow the keeper in flocks; and scarcely allow the peas to run from his bag into troughs placed for the purpose, before they begin to eat. Those that cannot find room at

one trough, follow him with the same familiarity to others.

Pheasants are found in most parts of England, but are by no means plentiful in the north; and they are seldom seen in Scotland. Wood and corn lands seem necessary to their existence. Were it not for the exertions of gentlemen of property, in preserving these birds in their woods from the attacks of poachers and sportsmen, the breed, in a few years, would be extinct. The demand for Pheasants at the tables of the luxurious, and the easy mark they offer to the sportsman, particularly since the art of shooting flying has been generally practised, would soon complete their destruction. Mr. Stackhouse, of Pendarvis in Cornwall, informed me, that forty years ago, he recollects hearing old people say, that in their youth, and in the generation before them, Pheasants were very plentiful in that county; but the race is now extinct.

The general weight of male Pheasants is from two pounds and a half, to three pounds and a quarter. That of the hens is usually about ten ounces less.

The female birds have sometimes been known to assume the plumage of the male. But with Pheasants in a state of confinement, those that take this new plumage always become barren, and are spurned and buffeted by the rest. From what took place in a hen Pheasant, belonging to a lady, a friend of Sir Joseph Banks, it would seem probable that this change arises from some alteration of temperament at a late period of the animal's life. This lady had paid particular attention to the breeding of Pheasants. One of the hens, after having produced several broods, moulted, and the succeeding feathers were exactly like those of a cock. This animal, however, never afterwards had young-ones.

THE CHINESE PHEASANT*, AND ARGUS PHEASANT†.

The singular beauty of the Chinese Pheasants has long rendered these birds objects of admiration. Though inhabitants of the warmer districts of China, they can, without difficulty, be kept in aviaries in our own country. The females are smaller than the males, have a shorter tail, and plumage of much less brilliant colour. In many instances, however, when old, they have been known, like the pea-hen, and the female European Pheasant, to assume a plumage similar to that of the male.

The eggs of the Chinese Pheasant resemble those of the Guinea-fowl; and are in proportion smaller than those of the poultry-hens.

Sir Hans Sloane kept a male Chinese Pheasant nearly fifteen years, during the whole of which time it continued in perfect health. From this bird he obtained a mixed breed with the Common Pheasant. Of this breed the produce had a plumage much less beautiful than that of the Chinese species.

Chinese Pheasants suffer more inconvenience in European climates, from the humidity and changeable

• See Plate xv. Fig, 4.

DESCRIPTION. This bird is distinguished by having a yellow crest, the breast scarlet, the back and rump yellow, the upper tail-coverts long, narrow, and red, the wing-covers varied with bay and brown, the quill-feathers brown, with yel lowish spots, and the secondary quill-feathers blue.

SYNONYMS. Phasianus pictus. Linnæus.-Le Faisan Doré. Buff-Painted Pheasant.

+ See Plate xv. Fig. 5.

DESCRIPTION. The Argus Pheasant is of a clayey-yellow colour, spotted with black. The face is red, and behind the head is a blue crest. The wings are grey, and have a great number of eye-like spots. The two middle feathers of the tail are very long, and are spotted through their whole length.

SYNONYMS. Phasianus argus. Linnæus.-L'Argus ou Le Luen. Buff