Common Pheasant: Nest & eggs

The Common Pheasant nests on the ground and builds no real nest, making do with a simple hollow.

• Nest site: the hen scrapes a shallow hollow concealed in dense vegetation, often in field margins, ditch banks or scrub.
• Camouflage: the brown-mottled hen is well camouflaged and incubates alone, which makes the nest hard to detect.
• Nidifugous young: the chicks leave the hollow shortly after hatching and find food themselves under the hen's watch.

She usually lays 8–15 olive-brown eggs and incubates them alone for about 23–27 days.

More about the Common Pheasant

• Song & calls
• Breeding
• Diet
• In winter