Pheasant is much nicer. We had a training day setup with a blind (sort of hide-and-seek for Labs -- teaching them to 'handle' by whistle and hand signal to a hidden bird). The dogs get in line and take turns to run the series. The blind was planted with 4-5 mallard ducks and one hen pheasant.
Every time Shelley came up and ran the blind, she came back with the pheasant. It was the first time she had encountered one, and she was charmed. She didn't want to give it back, and was so insistent about it that the flight manager gave her the bird to take home at the end of the day. We put it in the freezer and took it out for her to retrieve periodically until it just couldn't be thawed one more time. She looked longingly at the garbage can until the garbagemen came and took it away.
I may have to get her one for a pet.