Hoyt & Roberts, comps. Hoyt’s New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations. 1922.
Pheasant
Fesaunt excedeth all fowles in sweetnesse and holsomnesse, and is equall to capon in nourishynge.
Sir T. Elyot—The Castle of Helth. Ch. VIII.
The fesant hens of Colchis, which have two ears as it were consisting of feathers, which they will set up and lay down as they list.
Pliny—Natural History. Bk. X. Ch. XLVIII. Holland’s trans.
See! from the brake the whirring pheasant springs,
And mounts exulting on triumphant wings:
Short is his joy; he feels the fiery wound,
Flutters in blood, and panting beats the ground.
Pope—Windsor Forest. L. 111.