Death of a Prince

I wrote some time back about my handsome cock pheasant, the one that visits my garden almost daily and struts proudly across the lawn as if he were the Prince of All Pheasants. Well, he is no more. Yesterday morning, I noticed a pile of feathers on the edge of the lawn, the remains of my proud bird.
It would take a raptor the size of a female Sparrowhawk to tackle a Pheasant (As with most raptors, the female is bigger than the male), and even that seems hard to believe. The picture shows a female with her kill. Her prey item in this case is a Wood Pigeon.
Sparrowhawks are noble birds, but on this raw December Friday, I like them a little less than I did two days ago.