Unpleasant Pheasant

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day, this pheasant doesn't like the rain. Here is one sad looking pheasant seeking shelter on my windowsill. I am not 100% sure what type of pheasant he is as he looks like a juvenile Common or Ring Neck Pheasant but does not have the red facial wattles around the eye. So whatever pheasant he is, he sure finds the rain unpleasant and wants in.

Melanistic Mutant

Last Friday evening I had a few guests over and we spotted a pheasant which I thought was a Grey Peacock. Okay it was dark but after taking some photos of them today and doing a bit of researching I found out that the bird we saw on Friday was a female Melanistic Mutant Pheasant. Strange name yes but they are a melanistic form of the Common Pheasant, sort of a breeding mutation that was first observed in 1880s and are now considered a breed on its own.