Field guide to the most commonly encountered mammals and birds

Here, we provide some basic information regarding commonly observed species (plus some others about which we have had queries).  

Feel free to contact us by email if you have any questions regarding species you have encountered on the site.

For more information about mammals, we recommend the Mammal Society's species hub, here. For birds, excellent resources are available from the RSPB (here) and the BTO (here).

 

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Pheasant (Common)

(C) lambtonwrym (shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)

 

Scientific Name: Phasianus colchicus

Appearance: Large gamebird with long, tapered tail. Male: Glossy green-black head with fleshy, vivid red eye-patch. With or without white neck-ring. Glossy bronze or copper breast with dark spots and orange-copper flanks. Pale rump may be obvious in flight. Female: Plumage pale brown with bold black markings, particularly on upperparts.

Song: Loud, harsh, explosive corr-kok! Followed immediately by a sudden burst of ‘whirring’ wingbeats.

When heard: Introduced. Male advertising call and wingbeats produced during the breeding period from March to July. Similar calls may be heard year-round.

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