Fur and Feather in North China
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Ss-Di:t6Ei2aa!^.4-Jw^«^:/ i/fis-inj FUR 'S) FEATHER IN NORTH CHINA. TIENTSIN PRESS, LTD., — — Printers aud Publishers — — 33, Victoria Road, Tientsin, North China' « H "A U oO a a H FUR AND FEATHER IN NORTH CHINA, By Arthur de Carle Sowerby, F.R.G.S. " Author of " Sport and Science on the Sino-Mongolian Frontier and joint author with Robert Sterling Clark of "Through ShenKan/' With 30 liJie drawings by the mdhor and 43 photographs. ' There is a pleasure in the pathless woods. There is a rapture on the (onely shore. There is society, where none intrudes. By the deep Sea, and music in its roar. I fove not Man the less, but Nature more. From these our interviews, in which I steal From all I may be, or have been before. To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne'er express, yet can not all conceal," —Byron 1914. THE TIENTSIN PRESS, LIMITED, Victoria Road, Tientsin, North China. To my wife. All rights reserved. PREFACE When the papers, which go to make up this book, were firsts con- templated, it was proposed that they should deal purely with sport. It was felt, however, that there was a very distinct need for some popular work not merely on game birds and animals, but on the whole, or as much as possible, of the North China fauna. Consequently, it was decided to endeavour to meet, if only in a small measure, this need. The resulting papers, penned sometimes in town, sometimes even on the road, but always with a sad lack of reference works, can not claim to do justice to the great subject. It is hoped, however, that they will serve their purpose until some more detailed and classic work is produced. One of the chief aims I have had in mind while writing thus en the birds and animals of North China, has been the rousing of public interest in the subject, with a view to the ultimate protection and preservation of many species, which under existing conditions are doomed to extinction. Another object has been to share with those who can not get away into the wilds to see for themselves and to taste first hand of Nature's rich store, some of my own experiences with that sweet Mistress and her many children. It has proved an untold pleasure to mc to write these papers, for my mind has been carried back to many a happy day in field and forest, amid surroundings never so appreciated as in the perspective oi time. It has also been a source of education for I have come across new facts, and have been introduced to many species hitherto unknown to me, as I have delved into the riches of by-gone writers in search jof the correct names for those that I did know. The mere fact of my having written tEese papers Eag put me into communication with fellow lovers of nature, and has given me access to standard works, so that I have been able to correctly identify most of the species mentioned. I am deeply indebted to Mr. J. D. de La Touche, C.M.Z.S., M.B.O.U., who very kindly allowed me to go over his wonderful collection of Chinese Birds, than which none more complete exist, except that iu the British Museum. I am also indebted to Mr. Oldfield Thomas, F.R.S., F-Z.S., of the British Museum, and to Dr. Gerrit S. Miller, of the Smithsonian Institution, for assistance in the identification of many new mammals of North China, while Dr. Morrison, by allowing me access to his magnificent library, enabled me to further identify and verify the names of many of the old ones. The following gentlemen very kindly suppHed me with photographs, without which the illustrations would have been far from complete—Dr. P. H. Atwood, Mr. Malcolm P. Anderson, Captain T. Holcomb and Mr. W. A. Mace. To all these kind friends I wish to convey my heartiest thanks. ARTHUR DE C. SOWERBY. Tientsin, North China, July, 1914. DRAWINGS. PAGE. The Musk Deerr (^Moschus sihincus) II The Sika (Gervus Jtortulorum) 13 Wild Sheep .... 16 57 The Muskshrew (Cmcidura coreae) . The Mole (Scaptochirus gilUesi) 58 The Ordos Jerbot {Dipus sowerhyi) 66 The Woodmouse (Apodemus speciosus) 71 The Molerat {Myospalax fontanieri) 73 The Flying Squirrel (Sciuroptcrus buechneri) 75 The Chipmunk (Eutamias asiaticus sene^cens) 77 The Suslik (Ci$ellus mongoiicu)g) 79 The Pika (Ochotona bedjordi) . 80 The Bustard (Otis dybowskii) 109 The Butcher Bud (Lanius superoiliosus) 187 The Avocet (Recurvirostra avocetta) 148 The Hoopoe (Upupa epops) 154 The Pmtailed Sandgrouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) 157 The Cormorant (Phalacrocomx carbo) 158 Head of Poisonous Snake (Viper) . 163 Head of Non-Poisonous Snake (Watersnake) >> The Terrapin (Clemmys japonica) . 166 Radde's Toad (Bufo raddci) . 171 The Serpent-Head (Ophiocephalus argus) 172 The Chinese Perch (Siniperca chua-jtsi) )t The Wels [8ilurus\ asotis) 175 Elopicthys dauricusi .... 176 The Bream 177 The Bleak The Culter ..... The Loach (Cobitis tinia) 178 /Sai/awx chinensis, a small transparent smelt-like fish occuringi in the Chihli Estuariea . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Hale tone Plates, Frontispiece. At Work in the Country. PLATE Facing Page I Dr. P, H. Atwood and bag .... 2 II After Pig, Camp in the mountains of West Shansi 6 E. H. Cartwright and the Author with record wild boar (333 lbs. (Sus moupinensis) . ,, III A morning and evening's bag in Shensi . 8 IV The author and the late Mr. G. A. Grant with bag of roe, hare and pheasants in Shensi . 14 North Shensi Boeder {Capreolus bedfordi) . ,, V The Wild Sheep of North Shansi (Ovis juhata) . 18 The author with his best Earn . ,, VI The North Shansi Wapiti. Captain T. Hol- comb and his twelve-pointer ... 26 VII The North Shansi Wapiti. Captain T. Hol- comb and a six-pointer .... 30 North China Goral (Urotragus caudatus) . ,, VIII IMongol Hunter and Goral shot by Captain T. Holcomb in North Shansi .... 84 IX The Mongolian Gazelle {GazelJa gutturosa) . 40 The author and his first buck. F. Warrington W. and his best antelope . ,, X The Manchurian Tiger {Felts tigris longipilis) . 46 XI The Leopard (Felis pardus viUosa) ... 48 'XII The Fox {Vulpes vulpes) .... 50 XIII The Kansu Polecat (Mustela larvata) . 54 iNorth Shansi Hares {Lepus swinhoei sowerbyae) ,, PLATE Facing Page 60 XIV Equipped for hunting harea on horseback . XV Eats and Mice 70 XVI The Kansu AUactaga (Allactaga mongolica longior) 72 The Buzzard {Buteo hemilasius) . ,, 86 XVII The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetus) . XVIII I he Chinese Pheasant {Phasianus kiangsuensis) 90 The Shansi Pheasant {Phasianus sp.) . „ XIX F. W. Warrington and a Manchurian Eared- pheasant. Shot near Tai-yuan Fu, Shansi . 94 XX The Bearded Partridge {Perdix daurica) . 98 The Chukar {Caccahis chukar) . ,, XXI The Manchurian Eared-Pheasant {Crossoptilon mantchuricum) ...... 102 The Baikal or Spectacled Teal {Querquedula . J formosa) ,, XXII The Bean Goose (Anser segetum) . 112 The Bean Goose. A seven pounder . „ XXIII Wild Ducks on the Si-an Fu Plain, Shensi . 118 XXIV The Common Teal (Querquedula crecca) . 120 XXV A Bag of Snipe 126 XXVI The Coot, (Fulica atra) 128 The Common Snipe (Gallinago media) . ,, XXVII The Ibis billed Curlew (IbidorhynchuS' struther'si) 144 The Curlew {Numenius arguatus) . ,, XXVIII A pair of Green Water-snakes (Tropidonotus tigrinus ....... 162 The Chinese MudrTurtle {Trionyx sinensis) . ,, CONTENTS. PBEFACE. CHAPTER I. The Wild Boar. all wild creatures, and The wild boar is undoubtedly the gamest, lof admittedly amongst those who have experienced it, pig sticking is the finest sport in existence. The habitat of the pig, not including the various tropical species, ERRATA. Page 49, line 22 for "early" read "nearly." Page 70, lines 29 and 36, Plate XV, Page 71 lines 9, 10, 12 and 15, for "Epymis" read "Epirnys." Plate XVI for "Allactaga" read "Alactaga." Plate XXI for "manchuricunn" read "niantcJiuricum." Page 121, hne 17 for "Cidemia" read "Oidemia." Plate XXVII for "arquatus" read "arguatus." Pages 175 and 189 for "assotis" read "asotis." Page 175 "Elopisctliys" read "Elopicthys." Page 176, line 32 for "canassius" read "carassius." in length, and li tusk of this magnificent boar measures 10 inches not taken, but inches in thickness. The body measurements were catties of flesh the native who shot the animal stated that he took 200 of the weight of this pig, based from it. A very conservative estimate weight up to 300 catties upon the above statement would bring its total or 400 lbs. of an old tusker shot Next to this record come the measurements measures 9i inches m by the author. In this specimen the left tusk The weight of this pig was found length and H inches in thickness. to be about 330 lbs. CONTENTS. PBEFACE. CHAPTER I. The Wild Boar. The wild boar is undoubtedly the gamest loi all wild creatures, and amongst those who have experienced it, pig sticking is admittedly the finest sport in existence. The habitat of the pig, not including the various tropical species, such as the wart-hog, the bush-pig and thie peccary, extends from Spain to Kamschatka, and from Siberia to Ceylon. Naturally in all this tremendous area numerous varieties occur, which: have been made into distinct species by naturalists. Thus there is Siis scrofa of Europe, S. cristata of India, S. arnurcnsis of the Amour, S. nigriyes of Sungaria and S. vioupincnsis of Thibet,—all differing but slightly from one another, yet differing sufficiently to warrant separation according to the present day system of classification. In China P^re Heude has described a number of species from various parts, but, as the diagnoses were very unsatisfactory, it has been found impossible to decide exactly how many valid species really occur.