This is a Reeve's pheasant. Pretty, isn't he? Our Reeves is a guy who's full of personality. If you go near the cage, he comes out, struts, and clucks at you. If you go in the cage, as Paul has learned, he may attack. The first time this happened, he knocked Paul to the ground and gave him a minor concussion. This time, Paul put up his arm to block the attack, and the bird put its talons through his wrist. We'll find out later whether the wrist bones are broken; Paul can't move the arm today. I think the Reeves may soon be set free to explore the landscape on his own. I'd place bets on him vs. the coyotes, but I could be wrong.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Bird of Prey
This is a Reeve's pheasant. Pretty, isn't he? Our Reeves is a guy who's full of personality. If you go near the cage, he comes out, struts, and clucks at you. If you go in the cage, as Paul has learned, he may attack. The first time this happened, he knocked Paul to the ground and gave him a minor concussion. This time, Paul put up his arm to block the attack, and the bird put its talons through his wrist. We'll find out later whether the wrist bones are broken; Paul can't move the arm today. I think the Reeves may soon be set free to explore the landscape on his own. I'd place bets on him vs. the coyotes, but I could be wrong.
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3 comments:
Wow. That sounds worse than my rooster. Our worst encounter left me limping for a few days last year, but no broken bones. How is it that an animal than only weighs ten pounds can wield that much power?
An eagle exerts 1000 pounds of pressure per square inch through its talons. Even granting our Reeves a tenth of that, it's pretty powerful stuff.
Of course, the pheasant is supposed to be a vegetarian. . . .
Hey, I had my cuticles pulled out by a chickadee once. Never underestimate our animal friends.
Reeves should actually do pretty well in upstate NY -- they are a central China oak/pine slope species. A bit colder and longer winters in upstate than they are used to. Of course, this guy hasn't had any practice with coyotes or bobcats (or goshawks or great horned owls), so his odds of long-term survival are pretty low. No insult to Paul, but I know coyotes, and he's no bobcat...
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