‘We had never seen anything like it’: Rare albino pheasant caught on video in back garden
Brian Cave found unusual bird wandering around outside his home in Newquay, Cornwall
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A rare albino pheasant has been caught on camera wandering around a family’s back garden.
Brian Cave, 52, was venturing out for a walk with his pet dog Blaze just before Christmas when he spotted the unusual bird at his home in Newquay, Cornwall.
With no idea what the strange-looking bird was, the retired ambulance technician filmed a video so he could look it up later.
He said the bird was completely white except for a touch of red around the eyes – and a quick internet search revealed it was in fact a rare albino pheasant.
"We Googled it because we had never seen anything like it, and we thought it looked like an albino pheasant,” said Mr Cave.
"We got some video footage of it so we could show it to friends. It was something I had never seen before, it was about the same size as a regular pheasant.
"It didn't fly away straight away, it kept walking around.
"Where we live we see lots of different types of birds but we'd never seen one like this before, it was very unusual. I was very surprised.”
Boxing Day is usually better known for hunting game birds rather than appreciating their beauty, with the Royal Family traditionally holding a shoot at Sandringham, their Norfolk estate, the day after Christmas.
But the sighting of a true albino in the wild is a rare treat, according to the British Trust for Ornithology.
The registered charity said most albino birds “die soon after fledging, primarily as a consequence of their poor eyesight, and albino birds are not thought to progress to adulthood in the wild”.
A rare albino pheasant also spooked travellers last year when it was seen stalking fields near the A379 in Yealmpton, Devon, on Halloween.
Additional reporting by agencies
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments