ARE THE PHEASANTS MIGRATING ?

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3099, 26 May 1892, Page 2

ARE THE PHEASANTS MIGRATING ?

* From all quarters we hear that game—particularly pheasants—are very scarce this season. Some attribute it to the large number of hawks, which are always to be seen cruising about. To some extent, this is very likely to be so ; but we may draw attention to the curious fact that the pheasant has, so to sueak, always kept on the outer edgo of civilisation, extensive cultivation, with increasing population, being apparently neither suitable to their habits nor taste. Sporting men will recollect how numerous the birds were in the early clays about Drury and the settlement of Bombay. Then the shooting zone moved further up country—Taupiri, Ngaruawahia, and the Lower Waikato district becoming favourite spots for sportsmen. Again, of late years, the pheasants appear to have shifted still further back ; aud this season, while scarce about Waikato, we learu that they are very plentiful in the Taupo and other inland districts. Whether this is owing to the additional cultivation or, perhaps, to the numerous guns, we know not. One thing appears certain : That the pheasant, like the American grain grower, prefers new country, and those who wish to continue their sport with this king of birds must also ''move on."