Beware the unpleasant pheasant...
Irate Archie terrorises village
WITH the shooting season under way, they have more reason than ever to keep their heads down.
But one fearless pheasant seems to have decided to try to turn the tables on humans by staging a series of ambush attacks.
It runs up to pedestrians in Balfron, Stirlingshire, and pecks away at them while making strange growling noises.
One walker has said he had to be ‘saved’ by a local builder armed with a piece of wood.
The bolshie bird has been attacking people for months, becoming so well known it has even been given a name – Archie.
Pheasants are normally shy creatures but a recent video shows a growling Archie harassing a walker by pecking at his shoes and trousers.
Andrew Campbell, of Bishopbriggs, Dunbartonshire, described the encounter, which took place on the outskirts of the village next to a farm. ‘I had stopped as there was a horse in the field,’ he said.
‘That’s when I noticed the pheasant kind of lurking around the entrance to the farm, so I thought “Cool, I can get a photo”.
‘The pheasant then started to get closer, which I thought was a bit strange, and it came right up to me. It was fine for a few seconds then it started pecking my feet and circling me. I turned to walk away and it followed me for a good 50 metres or so, again flying into me, pecking my feet and legs, walking right in front of me.’
He added: ‘I couldn’t get it to stop. Luckily, a builder across the road came to my aid. He jumped out the van into the lodge grounds and grabbed a piece of wood.
‘The pheasant turned and headed back. The workman said he had been attacked himself and told me the thing was a nightmare. Apparently, Archie has been attacking passers-by for months.’
Mr Campbell posted his experience on social media.
Kevin Fordyce commented: ‘Into the pot with him… yum.’ Evelyn Grant wrote: ‘Be grateful he doesn’t have a gun… got to defend himself from the oven somehow!’
Adam Wallace said: ‘My grandad helped a gamekeeper on an estate and a pheasant would run alongside the jeep and attack the tyres.’