Common pheasant

Appearance

The cock is brightly coloured: metallic green–violet head and neck, red facial wattles, often a white neck ring, copper-red body and a long barred tail. The hen is smaller, shorter-tailed and mottled brown for camouflage.

It lives in farmland, forest edges, hedgerows and scrubby, reedy areas. It needs cover, winter food and access to water. In many places populations are supplemented with reared and released birds.

In spring the cock claims a territory, announces itself with crowing and wing-whirring, and gathers a harem of several hens. The hen nests on the ground, lays 8–15 eggs and incubates alone.

It feeds on seeds, grain and green plant parts; insects are especially important for chicks. When threatened it prefers to run and flushes only as a last resort.

• Track: three-toed, forward-pointing bird track, often in a straight line.
• Call: the cock's hoarse two-note crow and wing-whirr.
• Dust baths: shallow hollows in dry, loose soil.