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Help! Pheasant like impostor (1 Viewer)

Lupy2018

Member
Hi all,

I was taking some photographs at Thrunton Woods today, near Rothbury, Northumberland, England.

A pheasant sized bird ran across the path, but it wasnt like anything I had ever seen before. It was black breasted and necked, with a white back and long striking white tail feathers. Its stayed ahead of me on the ground for a little while, then flew off when i got closer.

I've been trawling the internet for hours with no success, I am starting to think its not British at all. Please helps guys, its becoming an obsession.

Carl
 
Maybe an exotic pheasant species, or just a particular colour morph of Common Pheasant (I've heard that greenish or dark ones are popular). Populations of several species were released in Britain during the last few centuries.
 
Sounds a bit like one of the Lophura species, maybe Silver Pheasant? Obviously an escape from captivity, but they are quite widely kept and I wouldn't consider it impossible for them to breed as ferals in the UK (as other exotics like Reeves and Lady Amherst's pheasants have at times).
 
Hi Lupy, Welcome to bird forum, The bird you saw was most likely a pheasant species but more like a colour morph as Sangahyando said, I,ve not seen this particular colour morph you witnessed today before in the outdoors, but I,ve seen a number of colour types over the years, a parkland/estate near to where I live often replenishes its stock of pheasant only yesterday I saw two pheasant due to distance I could not be sure If one of these birds a pure white one was the one I saw later which was white apart from black streaking on the breast may have been the same bird so yes there are a number of different types out there.
 
Hi Lupy, Welcome to bird forum, The bird you saw was most likely a pheasant species but more like a colour morph as Sangahyando said, I,ve not seen this particular colour morph you witnessed today before in the outdoors, but I,ve seen a number of colour types over the years, a parkland/estate near to where I live often replenishes its stock of pheasant only yesterday I saw two pheasant due to distance I could not be sure If one of these birds a pure white one was the one I saw later which was white apart from black streaking on the breast may have been the same bird so yes there are a number of different types out there.
It could have been one of the 15 recognized subspecies of silver pheasant.. this link may help https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_pheasant
 
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