Common Pheasant

           Phasianus colchicus

 

Common Pheasant male Cock Pheasant's head
The Pheasant, also called Common Pheasant to distinguish from other global pheasants, has colourful exotic plumage. Although common in the British countryside, the bird originates from Asia.
Cock Pheasant Cock Pheasant
Beautiful iridescent colours and patterns of the male (cock) pheasant's breeding plumage The pheasant couldn't believe his ears (not really ears but tufts of feathers)
Pheasant's head Cock Pheasant
The bright red heart-shaped face patch
Common Pheasant male Common Pheasant male
and the long, patterned, forked tail exceeding the length of the bird's body
Common Pheasant male Common Pheasant male Pheasant with Magpie
Face on The wicked face of the pantomime villain Long tail rivalry: Magpie and Pheasant
Common Pheasant female Common Pheasant female Pheasant female
The female (hen) pheasant, like many birds and most pheasants, is much plainer than the male so that she is well-camouflaged when incubating eggs or brooding chicks
Pheasant Pheasant Pheasant
Three different individuals: -- in Edgware, Northwest London -- on my garden patio -- and one without a white ring collar
     
The bird, also called the Ring-necked Pheasant and introduced into Europe for hunting, is today a hybrid of the original wild Caucasian pheasant without a white collar and east Asian collared birds and usually has a partial white collar. Some are collarless or fully-collared. The different colour (light/dark) rumps and wing (white/dark) feathers also stem from different sub-species genes.
green line 

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Pheasant in Totteridge Fields
Tragopan
Foreign Pheasants