Wildcall

A howl on the wind hides many dangers.

It could be for a number of reasons, here are our best suggestions.

1. As the pheasant was a male, he may have been defending his territory? Male pheasants can be very aggressive because during the breeding season a good territory can attract up to 20 females into a male's harem (he will mate with them all), so getting a good territory is vital. I think it is a bit early in the year for males to be setting up territories, but possibly this one has got an early start.

2. He might have seen his reflection in the car and thought it was another male? Or maybe he just thought the car in general was a threat. 3. Alternatively he could have just been being a bit dim. Pheasants can fly swiftly but are not able to sustain flight over long distances, this means they prefer to run rather than fly from danger. Maybe he was running away from something else and accidentally headed towards the car?

Coat colour is not always a reliable way to distinguishing between grey squirrels and red squirrels, as red squirrels can have grey/brown coats and grey squirrels can have ginger hairs, particularly on their face and hands. The best way to tell whether you have seen a red or grey is to look at the tail and the ears. Grey squirrels never have obvious ear tufts and they always have white fringes on their tails like a halo. Size can also be a good indication of species as red squirrels are much more slender than grey squirrels with a smaller body length and weight. Red squirrels are also very timid and spend most of their time in trees whilst grey squirrels are much more bold and can frequently be seen running along on open ground. At this time of year grey squirrels will be moulting into their winter coats. Possibly this may be having an effect on their fur colour.Red squirrels are no longer found in southern England (except on the Isle of Wight and Brownsea Island), however some red squirrels do appear to have escaped from captive breeding programmes. I know the Nature Centre within Tilgate Park in Crawley keeps a population of red squirrels and that over the years quite a few of these have managed to escape. These escapees can survive in the wild for a number of years, however as far as we know none of them have successfully bred outside of the park.

Please contact WildCall, Sussex Wildlife Trust's wildlife information service via the website or call 01273 494777, with your wildlife and conservation queries.