Melanistic Female Pheasant? Somerset, U.K. (1 Viewer)

[Bolorumbolo]

Hi, can anyone help identify? Doesn’t seem to be a shadow on front of bird so I thought maybe melanistic?

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,

with thanks to Bewick, Butty and Pat and all once more Norwich, Norfolk, UK

Yes its a melanistic Pheasant for me too. Thats how I have seen a very few in the wild and in zoos/parks. Please note the right brownish wash to some parts in the upperparts, stripes in the paler flanks and lack of red laps in the face excluding most similar Silver Pheasant.

And I hope that there is no other similar/better fitting=the right species pheasant or gamebird in the world, if yes: thanks for correction!

 

[Farnboro John]

It's a normal male Pheasant under a tree, facing the trunk so its in-any-case paler back is lit while its darker breast is heavily shadowed from both the tree trunk and the bulk of the bird itself. The bald-looking crown is typical and despite the poor lighting the reddish face is just discernible.

John

 

[Butty]

a normal male Pheasant

Male, yes, but... I don't go for this - if 'normal' = wild-type. The back of the head/neck is in deep shade but the adjacent back isn't? - nah, that don't work. In my opinion. It's (a male of) one of the (increasingly-normal) odd and variable non-wild-type pheasants that are released everywhere - in my opinion. See the other recent post on this subject, already cited above by Alex:
Thread 'Norwich, Norfolk, UK' Norwich, Norfolk, UK

 

[Farnboro John]

Male, yes, but... I don't go for this - if 'normal' = wild-type. The back of the head/neck is in deep shade but the adjacent back isn't? - nah, that don't work. In my opinion. It's (a male of) one of the (increasingly-normal) odd and variable non-wild-type pheasants that are released everywhere - in my opinion. See the other recent post on this subject, already cited above by Alex:
Thread 'Norwich, Norfolk, UK' Norwich, Norfolk, UK

It depends what you call normal. On estates near me the bird illustrated would not attract attention among males with and without white collars, pale backs, overall dark plumage. None of them are truly wild anyway but farmed fowl for canned hunting.

John

 

[Butty]

So we agree now 👍🏼

 

[Bolorumbolo]

Thanks all. Very likely non-wild and it seems there is a lot of variation there. The sharp contrast between almost black or very dark brown and the lighter shade did seem to point towards something other than lighting/shadow but maybe that more obvious melanistic differences are now just common variations.