The spring weather is now cooler, blustery and bright.
After a day spent largely in the garden I met a friend for a walk in the park – Blenheim Park, about 6pm. Most of the tourists had gone home.
We saw pheasants… quite pale in colour, I thought, along their backs. What do you think? Are they a special breed?
Boadicea's Chariot 
Cold but very bright this morning, so all the blossom and spring flowers looked beautiful against a clear blue sky. Even made driving to the dentists’s a pleasure.
Gloriously clear here too and frosty this morning… but clouding over.
Hi Nym.
Lovely view of Blenheim.
Pheasant seem to come in various colours. I’ve seen some pale ones in Norfolk, and some with very dark plumage too.
Interesting, Ara. I have only noticed the deeper pumage ones before. A little later I saw one in direct sunlight, but had jut put the camera away. The colours were fantastic.
What’s the story behind your new avatar?
It’s a clip from a portrait called Jeune bohémien(ne) serbe by Charles Landelle.
No particular story, I came across it some time ago, and I thought the portrait rather pleasing.
We see pheasants in our garden every day. The alpha male and his two ladies wander through, while a young pretender, perhaps his son, has to be seen off – very loudly.
It’s an original Chinese ring necked pheasant. They are meant to be ornamental not for shooting and eating. But they have interbred over the years. There is a lot of kept land up that way so I expect it is hard to keep them apart.
The dark ones you have noted, the ones with an irridescent blueish look are called melanistic, it is a genetic mutation, even the flesh is darker but tastes the same, there were a lot over in Stonor.
The point is, Christina, is it really ornamental or could it be edible?
OZ
thank you for the answer, Christina
Oz, both!
But at the price of the exotic ones not too economical for the barbie!!!!
Have a look on the internet at the variations on the golden pheasants. they used to have a cage of them in Brum Botanic gardens and also running round in Vancouver Botanic garden greenhouses, quite amazing colours. I suspect that they are more SE Asian in origin as they always seem to be able to get inside in inclement weather. So not too many of them running around Oxon. Actually never seen one outside a zoo or botanic garden.
This is in the grounds of Blenheim… a little spre cash there perhaps?
I don’t give a monkey’s about plumage or origin. CAN YOU EAT IT???
OZ
Yes, OZ, I’m sure one can
Oh, that’s all right then. Blenheim Park you say. I might just take a lope.
OZ
If you do, let me know and I’ll join you for a stroll 🙂
I said a lope, not a stroll. 🙂 Nighty night Pseu.
OZ
Can you teach me to lope? (It’s not currently in my repertoire )
Lovely pictures, Pseu! It makes me want to spend more time in the UK.
it’s lovely when the sun’s out.
Pouring with rain this morning. (I know, I know…. we need it)
Christopher, I think I recommended you add Woodstock and Blenheim to your Mum’s itinerary in an earlier post of yours. They are spectacular places.