Predation 
Predators of avian species in Japan are similar to those found in 
the United States. Most common are hawks, crows, ravens, magpies, 
weasels, and snakes, all of which may take a share of pheasants or 
their eggs. Considered the greatest enemy of the game birds in Japan 
are feral cats and dogs. No direct signs of predation were noted by 
Foreign Game Introduction Program personnel in Japan, but illegal wire 
snares and nets for taking pheasants were in evidence. 
Reproductive Capacity 
Little difference has been noted in reproductive capacity between 
Japanese green and ring-necked pheasants. 
Breeding age -~- Young pheasants breed the year following their 
hatching. 
Number of eggs -- Average clutch size ranges from 6 to 12 eggs. 
As high as 15 eggs for one nest have been reported. 
Brood survival -- Usually good in Japanese habitats. 
Life span -- In the wild may live an average of 2 to 3 years. May 
live 8 to 10 years in captivity. 
Sex ratio -- On the average, one male to 2 or 3 hens in the wild. 
Renesting -- No authentic second broods reported. Late broods, 
resulting from earlier-destroyed first nests, may lead some observers 
to report second broods, 
Diseases and Parasites 
Green pheasants are normally no more susceptible to diseases of 
domestic fowls than are the ring-necked pheasants. According to Japanese 
Government veterinarians diseases that have been contracted under game 
farm conditions in Japan have included fowl cholera, pullorum, and, more 
rarely, Newcastle disease. 
Analysis of Competing Interests 
Relation to Agriculture 
Japanese green pheasants exhibit much the same relation to agri- 
culture as do the ringnecks in the United States. Although closely 
associated with croplands in Japan, the damage to agricultural crops by 
green pheasants has usually been exaggerated, according to wildlife and 
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