How to Identify aRing-necked Pheasant
Phasianus colchicus · 19.7–27.6 in (50–70 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Coppery-bronze body scaled black, an iridescent green-black head with red face wattles, a white neck ring and a very long pointed tail.
Female
Mottled sandy-brown all over with a shorter but still long pointed tail.
Male photo: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Female photo: Andy Vernon / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0
Field marks
- Very long pointed tail
- White neck ring and red face wattles on the male
- Iridescent green head
- Runs on the ground, flushing explosively
Similar species
What it sounds like
A loud, harsh, two-note crowing "kok-KOK" followed by a burst of whirring wingbeats.
Behaviour that gives it away
Prefers to run from danger and flushes only at the last moment, exploding upward with a loud clatter of wings.
Habitat & range
Farmland, grassland, hedgerows and brushy field edges across the northern and central states.
When you'll see it
Present all year in North America.
What it eats
Seeds, grain, insects, berries and shoots.
Did you know?
Native to Asia, it was introduced to Oregon in the 1880s and is now the state bird of South Dakota.
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