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Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

The male is hard to miss: copper-coloured, with a dark green head, red face and a very long tail.

Size
Males up to 85cm long, half of it tail
Look for it
All year round
Where
Farmland, woodland edges and hedgerows

My spotter's list

Struts after you, and clatters into the air if you get far ahead. Move your pointer and see.

When to look

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Pheasant

Good to know

Six things about the pheasant

Arrival

Not a native

Pheasants come from Asia. They were brought to Britain around a thousand years ago.

Colour

Him and her

Only the male is brightly coloured. The female is mottled pale brown, to stay hidden on her nest.

Take-off

A noisy take-off

A startled pheasant bursts into the air with a clatter of wings and a loud, croaking call.

Roost

Up to bed

Pheasants feed on the ground but fly up into trees at night to sleep safely.

Numbers

Millions released

Tens of millions of pheasants are bred and released in Britain every year for shooting.

Running

Rather run than fly

A pheasant would rather run than fly, and can sprint surprisingly fast.

The real thing

Photos of the pheasant

Pheasant, photo 1
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Pheasant, photo 2
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Pheasant, photo 3
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Out and about

How to spot one

Look along field edges and woodland rides, especially in the morning. The male's loud, two-note croak followed by a whirr of wings gives him away.

Lend a hand

How to help

Drive slowly on country lanes in autumn and winter, when young pheasants wander into the road with very little road sense.

Keep going

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