PHEASANT

We had 14 people on the Dawn Chorus Walk this morning.  Although the weather was dull and damp we still heard a dozen different birds including pheasants.

Below is another great photo from Jo Moe.  The story is that this character is the son of another pheasant that was a frequent visitor to Jo's trail camera.  They called the father HenryVIII because he had so many 'wives'.  Maybe this one should be called Edward VI.

This character was photographed on 16th April, as you can see from the figures at the bottom of the image, but unfortunately Henry's son perished on the A38 a few days ago.

 Pheasants were introduced to Britain as ornamental game birds in the 11th or 12th century.   The male birds are very colourful  Most of those in Britain sport a smart white collar, suggesting they are from Chinese stock.  Those without the collar are probably descended from south-west Asian birds.  But they ae all a mix of varieties now.  The females are a mottled brown - better for camouflage on the nest - and recognisable by their long tails.

Many of the pheasants you see in shooting country are captive bred and released to die by gunshot.

PS Jo tells me they did call this 'ex-pheasant' Edward, as he was the short-lived son of Henry.