Lady Amherst's Pheasant in Yorkshire??? (1 Viewer)

[tawny48]

Lady Amherst's Pheasant in Yorkshire???

Hi all! I joined specifically to see if someone could confirm this for me!

I have just been walking my dog (West Yorkshire) and am confident I've just seen a Lady Amherst's Pheasant. I've tried to find information online about them and have searched through this forum, looks like the only sightings in the past few years are down South with a single known male.

I have a (quite terrible) few seconds of video of him - it took a while to grab my phone and he'd wondered into the bush by that point. It's linked in a Google drive folder as too big to upload.

I don't know what else it could have been. Any help appreciated!

Pheasant – Google Drive

drive.google.com

 

[foresttwitcher]

Can't see anything in the video but if there is a shooting estate nearly and it didn't look like a Common Pheasant then try Googling Reeves's Pheasant.

 

[Joern Lehmhus]

Do not forget that Amhersts and also hybrids Amhersts x golden are kept in captivity and may well escape . Reeves pheasant, and others also .

In Germany there was a case recently where someone (non birder) described a bird he had seen and the conclusion was male capercaillie, though quite unlikely . It turned out later that there were two blue eared pheasants (escapes ) at the location.

 

[tawny48]

Can't see anything in the video but if there is a shooting estate nearly and it didn't look like a Common Pheasant then try Googling Reeves's Pheasant.

Hi, thanks for looking. I know the video is horrendous! It definitely wasn't a Reeves. The bird was all black and white other than a bright red spot near the base of it's tail. I've attached a picture of where it is in the video (I know a proper ID is unlikely but you can see the colours in the video).

 

[THE_FERN]

Yes it's plausible but really can't be sure from this or rule out other possibilities [golden x lady amherst's for example]. More field work required!

 

[tawny48]

Yes it's plausible but really can't be sure from this or rule out other possibilities [golden x lady amherst's for example]. More field work required!

Fuming that I didn't grab my camera quick enough! He was strutting in the middle of the path.

 

[Jacana]

Looks like a Lady Amherst to me. There are occasional birds seen around the country that have escaped or been released by people. There used to be a self-sustaining population, but that is now extinct.