A pheasant in the Cotswolds has beaten the odds after spending an entire day trapped inside the front grill of a car.
Miraculously, the bird emerged completely unharmed, feathers intact, thanks to the quick thinking of a local garage team.
The Feathered Hitchhiker
The drama began when a driver spotted the pheasant on the road and braked to avoid it.
Assuming the bird had flown away, she continued her journey—but hours later, a colleague noticed a feathered stowaway lodged in the car’s radiator grill.
Concerned for its safety, the driver took the vehicle to a Bourton-on-the-Water garage for help.
Garage Staff Spring Into Action
Lucy McDonagh, 44, filmed the rescue as her husband and garage owner, James Collett, 59, carefully dismantled the car’s undertray to free the trapped bird.
“It took about 15 minutes to get to it,” she recalled.
“Somehow, it was absolutely fine—not a feather out of place!” The bird had been hissing at the driver, making the rescue all the more urgent.
Being a valued customer of a garage trading for over a century in the village, the driver was not charged for the rescue.
Once freed, the pheasant was placed in a box and safely returned to the wild near Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone Brewery.
Not the First Animal Rescue in Engines
This unusual rescue follows another recent incident where a young fox was trapped inside an Amazon delivery van in Derby.
The RSPCA intervened after the driver spotted a warning light and discovered the distressed fox, which had chewed through engine wires.
The fox sustained minor injuries but is now recovering at Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital.
Pheasant Roadkill Patterns
While this story had a happy ending, not all pheasant encounters on the road go so well.
Bourton-on-the-Water has seen fatal incidents before, including one in 2018 when a pheasant flew through a lorry windscreen.
Experts note that pheasant roadkill peaks from autumn to late winter, coinciding with the release of captive-bred birds and the end of supplementary feeding after shooting season.
A Lucky Escape
The Bourton pheasant’s story is a reminder that wildlife can be surprisingly resilient—and that a little human help can go a long way.
From dodging traffic to enduring an overnight ride in a car’s radiator, this Cotswolds bird certainly earned its happy ending.
Share on Facebook «||» Share on Twitter «||» Share on Reddit «||» Share on LinkedIn»TDPel Media News« »For Breaking News«| »For Featured«| »For Biographies« »For Lifestyle« »For Lottery« »For Fashion« »For Politics« »For Business« »For Entertainment« »For Wellness and Fitness« »For Religion« »For Science« »For Sports« »For Technology« »For Health« »For TDPelTV« »For World News« »TDPel Media News« »For TDPel Community« »TDPel Media News« »For Breaking News«| »For Featured«| »For Biographies« »For Lifestyle« »For Lottery« »For Fashion« »For Politics« »For Business« »For Entertainment« »For Wellness and Fitness« »For Religion« »For Science« »For Sports« »For Technology« »For Health« »For TDPelTV« »For World News« »TDPel Media News« »For TDPel Community«