This morning we were awakened before 6 am by a strange sound, like a cross
between a ring-necked pheasant and a Douglas chickaree squirrel. As we
were eating breakfast, this magnificently-colored, turkey-sized bird came
walking up the lawn toward where we feed the ducks by the upper pond. What
a sight! Indigo blue, shiny green, black with large white splashes, bright
red face and legs. We immediately looked him up in Birds of the World,
and identified him as a Swinhoe's Pheasant, Gennaeus swinhoii. We
put out the usual cracked corn for the wild mallards, and the pheasant
seemed unafraid and immediately began feeding. On the way down the
driveway to get the morning paper, Bill found a trail of large bird scats,
obviously the route followed by this large bird to enter our yard. Must be
an escape from a neighboring yard, as this pheasant is native to Formosa.

Bill and Erin Woods Woods Tree Farm Redmond, WA U.S.A.
<wwwbike at halcyon.com>