Hen Pheasants

This one of a group of three hen pheasants who regularly visit our bird feeder in the mornings. Obviously they are too big and clumsy to actually get food from the feeder but wait for the seed husks and other detritus that the finches, tits and starlings scatter downwards from the feeder. In the bottom picture you can see her looking upwards awaiting this 'manna from heaven'. Fortunately none of the pheasants has been caught by the cats and sparrowhawk that patrol our garden from time to time though Baxter, our Podenco dog regularly chases them off. The lone cock pheasant rarely seems to brave these perils of the garden but can be frequently seen in the paddock behind us.