14 THE AUD UB ON® BU LE hea 
The Ring-necked Pheasant 
(Phasianus colchicus torquatus) 
By ANNA C. AMES 
THE MALE RING-NECKED PHEASANT is about 36 inches long, but the female 
is only 20 inches in length. She is mottled brown with a moderately long, 
pointed tail, an attractive bird. The male has been termed a fantasy in ori- 
ental colors. He has “a yellow bill, a green head with black tufts like little 
horns, bright red cheeks, a neck-ring of pure white, and below all this a 
superb and intricate pattern of browns, gold, bronze, copper, gray, and 
black clear to the end of a long, pointed tail.” (Lemmon) Truly he must be 
seen for his beauty to be appreciated. 
This handsome species, now the state bird of South Dakota, was intro- 
duced chiefly for sport. Primarily of Chinese origin, the pheasant was first 
successfully established in 1882 in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Ten 
years later there was a phenomenally successful shooting season there; five 
thousand birds were killed the first day of hunting. This stimulated other 
regions to stock their grass and brush land areas. The bird is now widely 
distributed across our continent in northern and central states and in parts 
of extreme southern Canada. If food is available, it can withstand severe 
cold in winter. Hardy, prolific, and resourceful, it has adapted itself readily 
to North American conditions. Its abundance and hardiness have made it 
a popular game bird. When disturbed, it likes to run for cover rather than 
fly. The birds are now reared for game, aviaries, and the fancy food market. 
Thousands are bred and reared yearly in captivity for release during the 
hunting season. Shooting of the pheasant has been restricted to the male. 
Pheasants have been kept in captivity in Europe for hundreds of years. 
The Greeks at the time of Alexander the Great raised them for food. Henry 
VIII employed a pheasant breeder in 1572, and the birds are now bred ex- 
tensively in many countries. They are resident where introduced. Pheasants 
thrive best in grass-growing farm country where there is much waste grain 
for food and where they find shelter in coarse grass or shrubbery. One ex- 
ception to this is that the birds do well in the sandhill area of Nebraska. 
The Ring-necked Pheasant is usually, but not always, polygamous. A cock 
may have half a dozen or more hens. The several females establish sub- 
territories in the territory of the male, which subterritories they hold 
against each other. In spring the pheasants spread out over the fields. The 
cocks patrol boundaries between territories. In courtship display the cock 
partly spreads one wing, spreads and lifts his tail, lowers his head, and 
walks around the female with short steps. The female alone takes care of 
family duties. 
Early in the spring the male birds “crow.” Although their call is a far- 
reaching ‘“‘kok-kok,” not ‘‘cock-a-doodle-do,” it is definitely chicken-like. The 
effect is heightened by the single wingclap which precedes the call and the 
short flutter that concludes the act. Prior to mating, a cock often crows 
every three or four minutes for an hour or so, then takes a brief vacation 
before beginning again. 
The nest is constructed by the female of leaves and grass in May or June, 
normally on the ground in brushy fields or pastures, edges of woods, moor- 
lands, or grain fields. It is lined scantily with leaves, grass, or straw. There 
