The Common Pheasant

The adult Pheasant is 20 to 30 inches in length with its tail accounting for half its total length. The male or cock's plumage is predominantly brown with green, purple and white markings. Its markings often include a white ring around its neck. It has a stout bill and its legs are long, and strong. Its feet consist of a four-toed claw. The male is larger than the female and usually more colorful.

The Common Pheasant is native to Asia but has been widely introduced in different regions as a game bird. They are often raised on game farms and then released for that purpose. When raised in the wild, they favor wooded land and scrub fields. They spend most of their time on the ground but will roost in the trees at night.

As the Common Pheasant are often farm raised for human consumption, little is written about their mating practices in the wild. The clutch size is six to twelve eggs and are incubated for 23 to 26 days. If allowed, the female will hatch her own eggs and raise the chicks with the male assisting in the food gathering and protection. Common Pheasants reaches breeding age within a year of hatching.

When I was a child, spotting a pheasant foraging along the roadside was a rare occurrence. They were hunted extensively. If one was spotted, it was on the dinner table the following evening. By the time I reached high school, the pheasants were gone.

With the implementation of raise and release programs, the pheasants can be seen around my parent's farm again. They are hunted during hunting season and free to roam the fields the rest of the year. They are a beautiful bird and spotting one is thrilling. I try not to think about the fact that they will eventually end up on someone's dinner table.