South Dakota State Bird
Common Pheasant (common name)  Phasianus colchicus (scientific name) Overview The common pheasant was introduced to South Dakota as a game bird in 1898 and became the official state bird in 1943. The male is easily recognized by its colorful plumage, with a green head and belly, red patches around the eyes, a sharp white neck ring, and barred brown-black-buff body highlighted with iridescent purple. The adult's long tail accounts for half the bird's total length. The pheasant's large size, strong muscles, thick plumage, and layers of fat enable it to survive the harsh winter environment. It can move freely over all but deep or fluffy snow.  Some 95 percent of the adult pheasant's diet is vegetable matter, with the rest made up of insects (grasshoppers, ants, crickets). Primary foodstuffs include grain found on agricultural lands, fleshy fruits, weed seeds, roots, nuts, and other parts of wild plants. The bird's call is a kind of squeaky cluck. Pheasants nest on the ground in a shallow depression lined with leaves and grass. If a nest is destroyed, the female will start another nest elsewhere and will keep re-nesting until successful. Insects make up 90 percent of the chicks' diet in their first week, but this percentage drops to 50 percent after one month, 30 percent after six months, and five percent in adulthood. Close-up STATUS Official ALSO KNOWN AS Chinese ring-necked pheasant, ring-necked pheasant, game pheasant, true pheasant PHYSICAL DETAILS    Male Female  Size Length to end of tail: 24–35 in (61–89 cm) Wing from flexure: 22–34 in (56–86 cm) Length of tail: 20 in (51 cm) Length to end of tail: 20–25 in (51–64 cm) Wing from flexure: 22–34 in (56–86 cm) Length of tail: 7.5 in (20 cm)  Weight 2.6 lb (1.2 kg) 2 lb (0.9 kg) BEHAVIOR Often feeds in large groups, scratching the ground with its claws and digging with its bill for food. Pheasants rarely fly when threatened, preferring to run for cover if disturbed. In the summer the birds take frequent dust baths. HABITAT Open fields, prairie, cultivated land, grassy wetlands, hedgerows, and the margins of small lakes, parks, and lawns. Range: Although originally from Asia, the pheasant is now found in nearly every country after hundreds of years of being introduced as a game bird. In North America, the range is from Newfoundland to California, with the largest area of territory in the central plains of the U.S. and Canada. Migration: Non-migratory Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) NESTING Nesting Period: March to August (peak April-June) Size of Clutch: from 6-20 eggs (average of 11) Incubation Period: 23 to 28 days Egg Description: Olive-brown Egg Size: 1.7 x 1.4 in (45 x 36 mm) Egg Weight: 31.5 g SIMILAR SPECIES Sharp-tailed grouse TRIVIA The gender ratio is one male pheasant for every two to three females. A male will mate with any receptive female that enters his territory, typically a half-mile (0.7 km) radius. He will keep other males away from his small group of females (his "harem") during the breeding season. Pheasants are highly prized game birds known for their delicious meat. Every year tens of millions of the birds are raised and released for hunters.
	Click to enlarge an image Male Common Pheasant Female Common Pheasant Juvenile Common Pheasant Common Pheasant Chick Common Pheasant Defending Its Harem Common Pheasant Distribution Map (pdf) CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Subclass: Neornithes Infraclass: Neognathae Superorder: Galloanserae Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae Genus: Phasianus Species: P. colchicus
	Author: World Trade Press