Part 6

While I have said that the pheasants are aggravating runners, this is principally so in the latter part of the season. In the earlier parts they are commonly found in the stubble fields, potato and other vegetable patches, and usually in single broods. At such times I have found them to lie quite well to the dog, not flushing until closely approached, and running but little except when winged. They are then easy shooting, but the fine size of the bird and the beautiful plumage of the cocks give a zest to the sport and a pleasant distinctiveness which every sportsman will be pleased to add to the list of upland shooting he has engaged in.

To those who wish to spend a season on these handsome birds, Oregon, especially, offers an attraction which goes far beyond its good supply of pheasants. During the open pheasant season the climate of Oregon is as near perfect as one can ask. That season of the eastern states that has been idealized in verse, and is known as Indian summer, finds its superlative in the early fall of Oregon. The sun shines brightly, but with its rays softened by its sub-equinoctial position; the air is mild, clear and invigorating, and the golden hues of the stubble field, the yet bright green of the grassy pastures, the rich tints of the dying autumn leaves, all framed in the blue-green fringe of the near-by pines and firs, produce a picture strikingly beautiful and always enjoyed. It is in this delightful season with such a picture on every side, heightened by an occasional glimpse of some towering mountain peak with its crown of eternal snows, that the sportsman of Oregon lays aside the cares of life and lives in an elysium during his pheasant-shooting days. The setting of the stage is as much to the play as the acting. So with our days after game. The invigorating air we breathe, the beauty of the landscape, the stateliness of the forest, the rugged grandeur of the mountains, the soul-inspiring picture of our dogs on point and back, lends more to the real enjoyment of the day than does the size of the bag we carry home.

=Color=--Male--The male of the Mongolian pheasant can not be confounded with any other game bird in America. Its very long tail feathers--from fifteen to twenty inches--will always prove a distinguishing mark. Its rich metallic colors of black, cinnamon, chestnut and ocher give it a combination of hues surpassing that of any other of our game birds.

Female--Nor should the female ever be mistaken for any other bird. It partakes much of the general colors of the male, but much subdued and more of a general ochreous hue, the plumage being buff mottled with brown. The tail, however, is not more than one-fourth the length of that of the male.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is generally a depression on the ground, but often in the hollow of some log. The eggs number from 12 to 18 and are of a dark ochre in color.

=Measurements=--The measurements of a Mongolian pheasant are practically useless on account of the larger portion of it being the tail, which greatly varies in length.

THE PIGEONS AND DOVES

The family =Columbidae= is represented on the Pacific Coast by three genera which are considered, to more or less extent, legitimate game, though they can not be termed game birds in the generally accepted use of the term. Still as they are hunted to a very considerable extent by the sportsmen of the Coast, they rightfully belong in a work of this kind. I shall, therefore, give them a place, and briefly treat each species that is pursued as game within the territory under consideration.

THE WILD PIGEON

(Columba faciata)

The wild, or banded pigeon, is a mountain dweller, found principally in the southern half of the territory covered by this work. They visit the valleys in the fall and winter months to feed on the oak mast, and at such times they are seen in large flocks in the Sacramento, San Joaquin and coast valleys of California. They are found in good numbers in parts of Arizona, and are common along both sides of the Sierra Madres of Mexico. When visiting the valleys they afford good sport, as they are swift flyers and capable of carrying off a good deal of shot. They have no migrations like the passenger pigeon once so plentiful in the eastern states, nor do they congregate in such immense flocks.

=Color=--About the same as the darker colored tame pigeon; the tail is a trifle longer than the tame bird and a little lighter than the rest of the plumage with a dark band across the middle of it; a small patch of white feathers at the back of the head. Both sexes are alike.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is built in the trees of small twigs and grass. Two eggs are layed at a time, and a pair of young birds are produced about every six weeks from April to August.

=Measurements=--A trifle more than the tame pigeon.

THE MOURNING DOVE

(Zenaidura macroura)

The mourning dove is a cosmopolitan species found in greater or less numbers in all sections. They have a slight migratory movement from the higher to the lower altitudes, but they cannot be called a migratory bird. A large number of these birds begin their nesting season in the mountains at altitudes of from 2000 to 4000 feet, raising one brood at that height, then moving down and nesting again, and moving again until they reach the lower valleys, where they remain all winter, congregating in certain places in flocks of hundreds. Many, however, remain in the valleys all the year and nest around the fields and along the streams.

The mourning dove is so well known in every country that a description of it is unnecessary.

=Nest and Eggs=--The nest is generally built in the small trees and lined with any soft article that they can find. The eggs number two and a pair of the young birds are hatched about every six weeks from May to September.

THE WHITE-WINGED DOVE

(Melopelia leucoptera)

The white-winged dove is nearly one-half larger than the common mourning dove. They range from Mexico through southern Arizona to the Colorado desert in southeastern California. In some parts of Arizona and in Mexico they are found in large numbers, and afford good shooting. Their habits are the same as the common dove, both as to food and nesting, though in parts of Mexico it nests in the pitahaya plants--a species of cactus--of whose fruit it is very fond.

This species can easily be distinguished from any other member of the dove family by the broad patch of white on the wings.

Order, GALLINAE

Family, TETRAONIDAE

Subfamily, TETRAONINAE. (Grouse)

Genus Species Common Names Range -------------------------------------------------------------------------

{umbellus sabini Oregon ruffed {Western Oregon and Washington { grouse {and Northwestern California. { Bonasa { {Eastern sides of Cascade {umbellus togata Canada ruffed {Mountains in Oregon and { grouse {Washington, thence East.