RE: Not a turkey attack, but....

Larry & Anne Brooks (birdfeeder@ibm.net)
Wed, 28 Apr 1999 09:12:29 -0000 

Hi!
	I had a similar experience a few years ago.  I saw a bird that looked 
grouse-like but was definitely not an American bird.  I finally identified 
it by a trip to the Baltimore Zoo as a Helmeted Guineafowl.  Birds do 
escape zoos so you might also have an unusual species.
	Anne Brooks
	Phoenix, MD

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From: 	Walter L. Meserve Jr.[SMTP:Skiptech@compuserve.com]
Reply To: 	mdosprey@ARI.Net
Sent: 	Tuesday, April 27, 1999 1:18 PM
To: 	MDOsprey
Subject: 	Not a turkey attack, but....

    I live in Fallston, just a hop, skip and jump from Gunpowder Falls SP.
My house is situated on a small hill, surrounded on three sides by farmers
fields, and to the east, about 70 feet from the house is woods with a
stream at the bottom of the hill.
   My neighbor came up yesterday to tell me he had a peacock in his yard.
Not believing him, I showed him a picture of a pheasant.  He insisted while
it was a close picture, his bird didn't really look like that.
  Flash forward about 6 hours.  My son is outside playing with his soccer
ball. I'm in the kitchen fixing dinner.  He comes ~screaming~ into the
house.  He's yelling that there is a bird outside he's never seen before,
and I have to hurry!!!! He was acting more urgent than I think I've ever
seen him, so I go tearing outside scanning the trees for any sign of
birdlife.  He's yelling "right there!!"  I look down at him to see where
he's pointing and there at his feet is somebody's 4-H project, a
wonderfully plumaged pheasant!  Dane said he was tapping the ball, when it
rolled away from him and from out of somewhere, the bird ran up to the ball
and hit it back to him with his beak!!!  He turned around to run to get me
and to his surprise, the bird followed him all the way to the door!  I can
only imagine the magical disbelief he must have experienced when he saw
that!!
   It was the size and shape of a Ringnecked Pheasant, but had a white cap
and throat, with a black line, similiar to a Chukars, (but thicker and a
tighter loop) going through the eyes and around to the neck.  It didn't
have the big fleshy red thing on the side of the face, but did have a
fleshy red eye ring, similiar to a Blackbilled Cuckoo. It's body, in the
evening sunlight had a beautiful iridescence to it.
  I fed the bird a little seed and went about trying to capture it, with no
luck. While he was very tame, he just didn't want to be touched.  He
wandered up to the small grove of pine trees and we went in to eat.  After
dinner, Dane said he saw it out in the yard again, but it flew up into a
tree, hopefully to roost for the night, away from the dangers of fox.  I
went out with a pheasant tape this morning in hopes of relocating
it(believe it or not, I was planning to lead it into the house!<g>) but it
wasn't to be found.

Barb Meserve
skiptech@compuserve.com