Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Science
Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3
Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Birds
As far as has been at present ascertained, the habitat of this species
extends over all the low-lying country near the African coast, from the
northern boundary of Abyssinia to Somali; we have never seen it upon
mountains, although it occasionally frequents their immediate vicinity.
The Red-necked Pheasant, like other Francolins, is extremely shy, and if
disturbed runs with great quickness to a place of security, and only when
very hard pressed employs its wings. Its flight is noisy but light, and
resembles that of the _Lyrurus tetrix;_ upon the ground, however, it is
far more at home than in the air, running over its surface with almost
incredible ease and rapidity. Like its congeners, this species has but
one mate, and lives on excellent terms with its companions, as several
pairs and their young usually keep together, forming small parties. In
spite of this usually peaceful mode of life, the males, like the rest of
their kind, occasionally indulge in regular pitched battles. Their cry
is very similar to that of the Partridge; about April or May the males
become much excited, and may be heard calling almost incessantly during
the evening hours. A nest found by Brehm in a thick, dark bush near the
ground, was formed of leaves and feathers, and contained within its
deep walls, six pure white eggs, closely resembling those of a Domestic
Fowl. "My attention," he tells us, "was attracted to the nest in the
first instance by the movements of the hen, who ran out of the bush at
my approach, and placing herself in an open space near me, spread and
beat her wings, and by her cries endeavoured to lure me from the spot. I
carefully marked the bush that contained the brood and at once pretended
to follow the anxious mother, who, after leading me some five hundred
paces, suddenly rose and flew back to her home in a series of large curves
quite after the manner of the rest of her congeners. The cock was not to
be seen, but no doubt was in the immediate vicinity." The flesh of this
species is much esteemed, and large numbers are snared for the table.
In many European houses it is to be seen caged, yet, though it endures
captivity well, it never becomes really tame.
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