   #copyright

Common Pheasant

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds; Food and
agriculture

                 iCommon Pheasant
   female (left) & male (right)
   female (left) & male (right)

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Galliformes
   Family:  Phasianidae
   Genus:   Phasianus
   Species: P. colchicus

                                Binomial name

   Phasianus colchicus
   Linnaeus, 1758

   The Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a gamebird in the pheasant
   family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds.

   The adult pheasant is 50-90 cm in length with a long tail, often
   accounting for half the total length. The male (cock or rooster) has
   barred bright brown plumage and green, purple and white markings, often
   including a white ring around the neck, and the head is green with
   distinctive red patches. This bird is also called the Common or English
   Pheasant, or just Pheasant. The males are polygynous and are often
   accompanied by a harem of several females.

   The nominate race P. c. colchicus lacks a white neck ring. This is
   however shown by the race Ring-necked Pheasant, P. c. torquatus which
   after several failed attempts was successfully introduced to the United
   States in 1881.

   The female (hen) is much less showy, with a duller mottled brown
   plumage all over, similar to that of the partridge. The birds are found
   on wooded land and scrub. They feed on the ground on grain, leaves and
   invertebrates, but roost in trees at night. They nest on the ground,
   producing a clutch of around ten eggs over a two-three week period in
   April to June. The incubation period is about 23-26 days. The chicks
   stay near the hen for several weeks after hatching but grow quickly,
   resembling adults by only 15 weeks of age.

   While pheasants are able short-distance fliers, they prefer to run: but
   if startled they can suddenly burst upwards at great speed, with a
   distinctive "whirring" wing sound. Their flight speed is only 27 to 38
   mph when cruising but when chased they can fly up to 60 mph.

   They are native to Asia but have been widely introduced elsewhere,
   where they are bred to be hunted and are shot in great numbers. The
   doggerel "up flies a guinea, bang goes sixpence and down comes
   half-a-crown" reflects that they are often shot for sport rather than
   as food. If eaten the meat is somewhat tough and dry, so the carcasses
   were often hung for a time to improve the meat by slight decomposition,
   as with most other game. Modern cookery generally uses moist roasting
   or farm-raised female birds.

   Pheasant farming is a common practice, and is sometimes done
   intensively. Birds are supplied both to hunting preserves/estates and
   restaurants, with smaller numbers being available for home cooks.
   Pheasant farms have some 10 million birds in the U.S. and 35 million in
   the United Kingdom. The Common Pheasant is also one of the prime target
   of small game poachers. The Roald Dahl novel " Danny the Champion of
   the World" dealt with a poacher (and his son) who lived in the United
   Kingdom and illegally hunted common pheasants.

   The bird was brought to Britain around the 10th century but became
   extinct in the early 17th century; it was reintroduced in the 1830s and
   is now widespread. Repeated reintroduction has made the pheasant a very
   variable species in regard to size and plumage. Pheasants were
   introduced in North America in 1913, being released at Dog Ear Butte.
   They are most common in the Great Plains, where they are often seen in
   hay, grass wheat, and CRP fields. A preferred nesting site for them is
   along fence rows, wheat, and under old machinery.

   The term pheasant can also be used for other gallinaceous birds such as
   the quail or partridge, and in North America it is occasionally used to
   refer to the ruffed grouse.

   The Green Pheasant of Japan is very similar to Common Pheasant, but the
   males have greenish plumage. The Ring-Necked Pheasant is the state bird
   of South Dakota, one of only three US state birds that is not a species
   native to the United States.

   Ring-necked variant

                      male

                          hen

                                                hen

   Cock

                      Cock

                          on sale at a butcher's

                                                English Cocker Spaniel with Cock
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Pheasant"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
