Pheasant (left) and Mrs Pheasant (right) in the TV series
The Farthing Wood Pheasants are among the animals that begin the journey from Farthing Wood to White Deer Park in both the books and the TV series.
Books[]
In the books, there are two pheasants that start the journey to White Deer Park; Pheasant and Mrs Pheasant. The pheasants make the journey safely until the animals reach the farmland and rest in an empty storehouse. After Kestrel finishes his watch, the pheasants take over, but Pheasant is spotted and shot dead by the farmer, Tom Griggs. The sound of the gunshot causes Mrs Pheasant to take to the air, and she meets the same fate as her husband.
The ancestors of the Farthing Wood pheasants appear in Farthing Wood: The Adventure Begins, the prequel set five years before the journey to White Deer Park. The pheasants only appear briefly as prey for the foxes and otters in Farthing Wood.
TV series[]
The series of events is slightly different in the TV series. While on the army land, Pheasant’s tail feathers are ruined by a stray bullet exploding, much to his dismay. Mrs Pheasant tries to replace them with one of Owl’s stray feathers, but Pheasant rejects the new feather.
Once on the farmland, the animals reach a barn and Mrs Pheasant takes over from Kestrel on watch duty as her mate is asleep. She hears the farmer and goes to warn the others, but is shot dead, and later eaten by the farmer for his dinner. When the animals discover that Adder has been left behind, Pheasant volunteers to go back for her to see his wife's final resting place. However, he fails to locate Adder because he is crying so hard and is seen by the farmer, who shoots him dead also.