PHEASANT
The pheasant or ring-necked pheasant, as it is also known, is a game bird, introduced into Europe from China. Including the tail, a pheasant can reach 700 to 900mm in length. The male has many colour forms, ranging from nearly white to almost black. Commonly, the male is brown with a long, black barred tail. The head is a glossed greenish black and violet, with bare, warty, red head sides. Many have a narrow, white neck collar and grey rump, but brown rumps and no collar are not uncommon. The females are not as colourful but their plumage is no less striking. They are buff brown with dark angular spots and feather centres. This plumage as well as being beautiful, is also great for camouflage when incubating eggs on the nest. Their tails are shorter than the males.
Pheasants are found in farmland areas with good cover, such as copses, dense undergrowth and scrubby thickets. As there is a lot of hunting with guns and dogs on the island, pheasants are few and far between, with the remaining birds being shy and timid. A scrape on the ground, lined with grass and leaves, suffices as a nest, but they will roost in trees. 8 to 18 eggs are laid over a 2 to 3 week period, from April to June. Incubation lasts from 22 to 27 days, with the chicks leaving the nest after a few hours from hatching, but they stay with the hen for several weeks. Fruit, seeds, grain and leaves are all on the menu, as well as insects, lizards, small mammals and birds.
