FOREWORD 
Even before the inception of the Foreign Game Introduction Program 
in 1949, State game departments and wildlife officials were interested 
in the possibility of obtaining new pheasant species for introduction 
into United States habitats. Success of the ring-necked pheasant strains 
in the United States is now past history. What are presently desired are 
new pheasants that can be utilized in areas where only marginal success 
has occurred with the ring-necked pheasant or in habitats where this and 
other species have never been successful. This latter area includes the 
southwestern United States from southern California eastward into Texas 
and those States further east and south of current ringneck range. Habi- 
tats vary from semi-arid desert lands with interspersed agricultural 
fields to humid woodland and agricultural lands. 
States cooperating with the Foreign Game Introduction Program are 
experimenting with several strains of pheasants in hopes of extending 
pheasant ranges. Included are the white-crested kalij pheasant (Lophura 
leucomelana) and the Reeves pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesi) from mountainous 
woodland habitats. From the true pheasant group, the western and eastern 
Iranian blackneck (Phasianus colchicus talischensis and P. c. persicus), 
are typical of agricultural areas, and the Afghan white-winged pheasant 
(P. c. bianchii) is common to semi-arid desert areas and agricultural 
lands. Among those found in the Far East are the Japanese green pheasant 
(Phasianus versicolor robustipes) of mountainous, woodland,and agricul- 
tural habitats, and the Korean ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus 
karpowi) from similar habitats. This report concerns the last two 
pheasant species mentioned above. 
The Japanese green and Korean ring-necked pheasants are prized hunt- 
ing birds in Japan and Korea respectively. Both pheasant species live in 
close association with hilly terrain where woodland and agricultural habi- 
tats occur. Climatic conditions, both summer and winter, are somewhat sin- 
ilar to parts of the eastern and the central United States differing mainly 
in the distribution of rain and snow during the year. In the species win- 
ter ranges temperatures extend from mild to near-zero, with varying amounts 
of snow. Annual rainfall varies from 40 to 80 inches or higher. 
This report expands information originally presented in the Game Bird 
Data Sheets covering these two species. Emphasis has been placed upon 
those characteristics of life history most important in the consideration 
of either species for trial introduction into the United States. A compre- 
hensive review of existing literature followed by limited field studies 
in Japan and South Korea in 1958-59 provide the data for this report. 
Appreciation is extended M. Y. Nuttonson of the American Institute 
of Crop Ecology who granted permission to use certain data from an 
Institute report. In addition, certain pheasant life history information 
and photographs were kindly furnished through the courtesy of Forestry 
and Wildlife officials in Japan and South Korea. Special thanks for 
assistance are extended to Mr. Toyo Matsuo and Mr. Seichii Kuzu, Forestry 
Agency, Tokyo; Mr. Keisuke Kobayashi, Kobe, Japan; and Mr. Chester M. 
Fennell, Seoul, South Korea. 
