What's the best present you could possibly give your wife or girlfriend? If you think that an LV bag, a bottle of Chanel, or maybe even a diamond ring are impressive, then think again...

In 1881, Allan Octavion Hume presented his wife, Mary Ann Grindall, with... a pheasant. The circumstances have not been recorded, but it's unlikely it was wrapped and he almost certainly didn't say,"Cook this f'me dinner luv".

This particular pheasant would last a bit longer than that.

As well as having a wonderful name, Mrs Hume's Pheasant is one of China's most impressive birds. I was lucky enough to find a male three years ago in the Gaoligongshan, but failed to get any kind of photograph of it.

So, with that in mind, I was a bit tense to say the least when, this morning, I heard a rustle of dead leaves only 20 yards or so from me at exactly the point I had seen Mrs Hume's in 2007. Glimses of its white tail did nothing to relax me.

The good news was that the bird was on a very steep slope and I gauged that it couldn't go up or across without me getting a full view of it. Of its options, the easiest would have been to come down the slope and on to the path in front of me. I pre-set the focus on the point where I thought it might emerge, and waited.

The rustling stopped.

The silence was deafening until, that is, the bird burst from the undergrowth with an almighty explosion. It flew over my head, somehow managing to find a gap in the trees, and flew down the slope faster than a downhill skier.

Well, I did get a great view at least - after all the bird was only 15 yards away at its nearest point to me. But, I was far too stunned to even think about picking up my camera (not that I would have had any chance of getting a shot had I have done so).


8 species photographed today, all new for 2010.

Crimson-breasted Woodpecker (ssp tenebrosus), 1
Red-tailed laughingthrush (ssp sharpei), few
Black Eagle (nom. ssp malayensis), 1
Yellow-throated Fulvetta (monotypic), sev
Plain-backed Thrush (nom ssp mollissima), 1
Fire-tailed Sunbird (nom ssp ignicauda), 2
Scaly-breasted Wren Babbler (nom. ssp albiventor), 1
Brown-breasted Bulbul (nom. ssp xanthorrhous), sev

Other birds seen:

Mrs Hume's Pheasant, 1 male
Silver Pheasant, female
Swallow, few
Kestrel, 1
Long-tailed Shrike, 1
Grey-chinned Minivet, 2
Ashy Drongo, 2
White-throated Fantail, 1
Long-tailed Thrush, 3
Large Niltava, 1 male
Himalayan Bluetail, 1
Naga Nuthatch
"Great: Tit, few
Grey Bushchat, few
Black-throated Tit, c20
Yellow-cheeked Tit, sev
Black Bulbul, c100
Mountain Bulbul, few
Buff-barred Warbler, few
Ashy-throated Warbler, few
Greater-necklaced Laughingthrush, sev
Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush, sev
Scaly Laughingthrush, 1
Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler, 1
Rusty-fronted Barwing, sev
Grey-cheeked Fulvetta, c40
Beautiful Sibia, c20
White-bellied Yuhina, sev
Rufous-vented Yuhina, c40
Grey-headed Parrotbill, c60
Mrs Gould's Sunbird, few
Tibetan Siskin, c30

2010 = 120 species photographed