Unterrupted mud bath

In the video clip below, you will see a wild female pheasant having a mud bath under some hedges. She then has to stop to leave space for my two hens Holly and Hazel. I have noticed that pheasants, particularly female pheasants, like to use my hens' mud baths (yes, they do have a few "self-made" baths dotted around the garden - unfortunately for me really because the mud baths become rather unsightly and messy deep little craters). My theory is that pheasants think it is a safe place to go. Wouldn't you agree?

Wild pheasants under the oak tree

Wild pheasants are a common sight in our garden. Although four male pheasants together is quite an unusual sight because of their territorial nature, they happily gather under our oak tree to feed on the fallen acorns. Female pheasants have plain coloured feathers making it virtually impossible to see them unless they move.

Four male pheasants

Camouflage feathers

A tint of red at the front of the eye

Pictures of wild pheasants

Our wild pheasants Donald and Mickey are no longer regulars in our garden as they were chased away by another male. Here are a few more pictures of them though.

Wild pheasants fighting

I have had two pheasants coming regularly in our back garden to eat the seeds that smaller birds drop on the ground from our bird feeder.

I have named them Donald and Mickey, because Mickey has large black feathers on the top of its head, like two large Mickey mouse ears.

Having very similar colours and one being slightly smaller than the other, I am guessing that it is a dad and son team. They rarely fight each other and like to wander around the garden. They often walk up to the patio door and stare at the glass, probably intrigued by the reflection.

Recently, another pheasant came into the garden. This caused some friction which ended up in a fight. It was quite intriguing watching them behave. It was like a little dance with their feathers slightly lifted to make themselves look a little bigger than they actually are.

Below is a small video showing you the fight. Don't worry. Nobody gets hurts! Well, not this time anyway.