Pheasants on Owlstone

This morning, M* urgently called me to the front window as a pair of pheasants moved quickly down Owlstone Road. They were lovely, and I raced to grab my camera and make it outside before they disappeared. Whether they were too fast or I was too slow, doesn't matter—I missed them. Since I can't produce the goods, here's a description and a drawing from the web site of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds:

"Phasianus colchicus AKA: Common pheasant

A large, long-tailed gamebird. Males have rich chestnut, golden-brown and black markings on body and tail, with a dark green head and red face wattling. Females are mottled with paler brown and black. They were introduced to the UK long ago and more recent introductions have brought in a variety of races and breeds for sport shooting."

Although the RSPB web site mentioned the call of the pheasant is a "loud 'kok kok kok...'," M* likened it to the cry of a pterodactyl (or what he imagines the cry of a flying reptile from Late Jurassic Bird to sound like).