ON THE WILD SIDE A real game bird

THERE are very few parts of the countryside you can go that you can’t hear the raucous crowing of the pheasant, but did you know that this quintessentially British bird isn’t British at all?

It might be hard to believe, but our beloved farmland fowl has a very complicated family tree that all traces back to ancient Rome.

The Romans, fans of hunting and feasting as they were, liked to bring their favourite foods to lands they conquered. As well as bringing rabbits, dormice and many plants, they also brought the pheasant, a big dumpy game bird from the Caucasus mountains in west Asia. Finding that Britain had mild winters and plentiful food, the birds made their home here, but remained fairly uncommon. 300 years ago however, with us Brits very much into our trading, we acquired a new love of the pheasant from China (where they were called mountain-chickens).

Now every year we breed and release 20-30million pheasants into the countryside for the purpose of sport shooting. The pheasant is Britain’s most hunted bird, and indeed one of the most hunted birds worldwide. Their natural range is across all of Asia, where 30 different sub-species all with different feather patterns make their home, and our modern birds are a crazy mix of all of these breeds. The first description of the wild pheasant called them “A red bird with a blue head” which is true for the wild The males are larger and much more colourful, and the females (even of all 30 different races) are a mottled brown colour to blend into the ground. They live most of their lives on the ground, and even nest on the ground, using big powerful feet to dig nests. They also use these feet to dig for food, and can even swim!

Due to their lives as our favourite game bird, many do not live more than a year, although if not shot, eaten by a fox or hit by a car a wild bird might expect a lifespan of three years. Pheasants are very aware of noises and vibrations, and a male will let out a loud crow when he hears thunder, feels an earthquake or hears gunshots. No wonder people like to shoot them when they give themselves away!

HAVE you seen crocuses and snowdrops flowering yet? The first flowering bulbs are starting to open up now most of the snow has gone. Look out for little bursts of colour in our parks and woods. FOWL PLAY: Pheasant is a big target for shooters like Prince Edward races, but the ‘wild’ pheasants of England can be anything from nearly entirely white to all black, with everything in between. The majority of our birds still have a thick white ring around their neck, inherited from theirChinese ancestors.Male and female birds look strikingly different.