Beau' iful Plumage

As I was driving last week on a country road I came upon a recently deceased pheasant lying in the snow.  It was about to be consumed by magpies. I stopped and went over to it and it was so beautiful I had to take some pictures.

It amazes me how many colors there are in nature. This bird has so many colors: cream, brown, a dusty teal blue, a dusty green, royal blue, scarlet, milky white, various browns, and iridescent reds and purples.

The teal feathers appear on the lower back from the shoulder down to the tail.

 

Look at these, each feather has an eye painted on it. These are the feathers of the shoulder.  

This is the wing. Notice the dusty blue patch of feathers, just at the point where the shoulder joins the back.

The head, with its green cap, white brim, scarlet eye patch, iridescent purples and greens. The breast has brown feathers that become red when moved against the light.

These brown feathers near the collar have little black tips that turn royal blue when the light glances along them.

Finally, here is a family portrait taken behind my shoulder while I wrote this. Kylie is snuggled in the love seat with the little orphan Daisy, and foster Dad Chewy watchful on the carpet. The group is doing great. Chewy loves playing with Jenny and Daisy, he especially loves having Jenny to sprint with since Kylie, being a lady, is more sedate in her walks.