15 Mart 2013 Cuma

South Dakota State Bird

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
  MaleFemale
 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
State Bird
Male Common Pheasant
State Bird
Female Common Pheasant
State Bird
Juvenile Common Pheasant
State Bird
Common Pheasant Chick
State Bird
Common Pheasant Defending Its Harem
State Bird
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


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