UNUSUAL PHEASANT IN THE GARDEN

Does anyone know about different types of pheasants? We often have the ordinary one stroll through the garden, and I do know of other types. I have seen albinos, and the Golden pheasant, and perhaps some others, but none at all like this one and certainly not in the garden!

It is a shame I didn't 'once more' have my camera permanently attached to my self, if I had I could have got a closer photo. By the time I got the camera it was at the back of the garden, I got some shots through the hinge gap of the upstairs back window. On zoom it is very slightly blurred on the beak, it was dull, but not too bad a shot. It has a very pale brown back instead of the normal ruddy red-brown. There is a very broad white ring around it's neck which can be seen not to it's full extent but it was quite crisp and distinct. I can see it's legs are a red-brown colour, there looks to be a bluish colour on it's ruffled feathers on its back. The colouring on it's head is also much different, and here is the handsome chap!

Hi Janet, It is a ring necked pheasant there are some good photos if you put the name into Google. You certainly get some nice varieties in your garden.

Thanks Pat, will do that. Are they quite rare? I have lived in country areas most of my life and not seen this one before.

We occasionally see them when the gamekeepers have introduced a new batch of pheasants. I think they buy in about 300 at a time, and there are sometimes some more exotic ones included with the ordinary ones. They do look very smart don't they. The only trouble I can see is that they are introduced for the shooting fraternity and I should think they make a rather better target than the plain ones.

I felt quite upset by one web site I looked up for ring necked pheasant - It is apparently the state bird for South Dakota, and then gives advice on where to go to shoot it. I suppose we wouldn't see them at all if they weren't raised for hunting. It is a pity men seem to have this urge to go out killing things.

Yes I saw it was introduced to North America from China, I hate any bird being shot for food, as far as I'm concerned they are at least on equal terms with us. It was going through my mind they were a fresh batch released, but mostly they are a bit naive, and younger looking. This could have been released a season ago, we very rarely have a shoot here. I hope it stays that way, since Bardon aggregrates bought the land across the road I'm not sure that will help! The 3 houses they forced owners out of have since been rented, and we have had some irresponsible people, even though they will be very expensive to rent. One guy was shooting through the hedge on the other side of the road, we had gun shot pellets landing on our wall. There was a lot of early morning shooting, I got in the police and he of course was shooting 'pidgeons'. He had his license revoked and since moved. We had another opposite us, the last one forced out who had been there 20 years and had land for sheep behind. The renter was a gangmaster, I think ex army and had come from Nthn Ireland with his young wife, he was a lout! Shooting everything, threw beer bottles in our beck as he had his end of day drink before taking his dogs for a walk to do their droppings on our grass. The dogs would escape and come and do what they liked on our garden. Nightmare, but he bought a house in another village, a quiet respectable type of village, and was joking that his neighbour opposite wasn't going to be very happy, they had those black /white spotty birds which the name escapes me, game birds, that wandered. We now have a Bardon employee living there, according to him not through the company but by accident, don't think I believe him! At least they are more responsible, but he is a bit like a lot of top company people, no description needed! The problems that are caused by a greedy farmer wanting to sell out for huge profits! Even a stray cat that used to get fed there, unknown to the owner, suffered. I saw him in poor condition and couldn't get him to come for food, then he disappeared. He had been big and strong. Man is so irresponsible.