The Florence tribune., 1898-07-02
MONGOLIAN PHEASANTS.
Arc Fast Becoming Popular as
 American Game Birds.
It Is Thought They May DisDIace the Quail as a FayOrite with SpOrtsmen-Their First
 Introduction.

Many sportsmen think that the pheas- ant of the Mongolian kind will in few years succeed the quail as the popular American game bird. The pheasant has not only it's toothsome qualities to recommend it, but it's beauty, in waving plumage of ravishing hues, and there fore will prove prize that every sports man will endeavor to secure when the season is once open for it's slaughter, It has attracted the attention of our sporting men for many years, in eon- sequence of it's successful introduction on the Pacific slope, and now many eastern states are introducing the Mon golian bird into their domains. In Ohio alone over 200 birds were liberated this year.
 Mongolian pheasants are well worth all the expense and care that may be ex- pended upon them. They evidently rank next to the birds of paradise in beauty, and in fact are too handsome to be made targets of.
 The male bird has the cheeks naked and of the brightest scarlet, minutely speeked with black; the crown of the head is bronze green; on each side ofthe oeciput tuft of dark golden-green feathers, capable of being erected at pleasure, and very conspicuous in the pairing season; upper part of the neck dark green, glossed with purple and violet blue; lower part of the neck, breast and Hanks, deep reddish orange, showing in some positions beautiful re- factions of light purple; each feather lordered and terminating with pansy purple; center of the belly and thighs blackish brown; center of the back and seapular feathers black or brownish black, surrounded with yellowish white band and bordered with deep reddish orange; lower. part of the back and upper tail covert green, inter mingled with brownish orange and pur- pie red; tail feathers brown. crossed by bands of black and fringed with red dish brown; bill pale yellow; legs and toes grayish black. The female has cheeks covered with small, closely set feathers. and the whole of the plumage yellowish brown, mingled with differ ent shades of gray, brown and black. The Morgolian pheasant was first in- troduced into this country by Judge 0. N. Denny, who was our consul general nt Shanghai He, while there, be- came deeply interested in the large va riety of exquisiteiy plumaRed food birds of that section of the globe, and deter mined to introduce the hardest, the most toothsome, and the most prolific bird into the United States. His first experiment in 1881 was a failure, but in 1882 be selected from nine varieties the Chinese ring-necked pheasant, the Mon golian, which is now called in Oregon, in compliment to the introchucer, the Denny pheasant.
 There were but 25 of these, and they all arrived safely at Portland, Ore. They wereimmediately liberatedamoDg the grain fields and semi-brush-eovered and wooded prairie at Judge Denny's brothers ranch in Linn county, there to adapt themselves or go out of exist ence.
 Nothing was seen of the new birds for two years, and then here and there in different portions of the country shy little coveys made their appearance, and before five years elapsed the cucket- ing of the brilliant-plumaged male birds was far more commonly heard than that of their own native grouse. It should be said that through Judge Denny's instrumentality the legisla- ture passed a law protecting the new pheasant for a period of five years, and at the expiration of that time, again at his suggestion, the time was extend ed for another interval of equal length. At the end of ten years Oregon was lit- orally alive with the Mongolian pheas- ant, which delights the heart of every sportsman with its swift and rapid flight and tempts the most epicurean palate by its delicious white flesh.- Newark Call.