| |
South Dakota State Bird
Ring-necked Pheasant
- Official South Dakota State Bird: Ring-necked Pheasant
- Family: Phasianidae; Partridges, Grouse, Turkeys
- Scientific Name: Phasianus colchicus
- Length: Male: 33" (84 cm); Female: 21" (53 cm)
- Diet: Omnivore: Insects, terrestrial and aquatic
invertebrates, small vertebrates; seeds, grain, fruit.
- Voice:
Listen to Ring-necked Pheasant calls (recorded by Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Male display a loud, harsh, hacking uurk-iik
followed by short burst of noisy wing beats. Male gives loud, harsh
cackle when flushed; both sexes give a variety of low, clucking notes,
some very similar to domestic hen.
- Habitat: Found in open country, farmlands, brushy
areas, woodland edges, marsh edges, fields.
- Displays: Courtship: male on "crowning territory" rises
high on feet and calls loudly while rapidly but briefly flapping
wings; struts in semicircles around female, head tucked, tail spread,
and wing toward female drooped.
- Number of broods: 1
- Nest: Usually concealed in grass, weeds; shallow
depression, occasionally barely lined with leaves, grass.
- Eggs: Averages 10-12 brownish-olive eggs,
occasionally pale blue, unmarked. 1.6" (42 mm).
- Incubation period: 23-25 days
- Fledge: 12 days after hatching
The Ring-necked Pheasant was selected as the State Bird of South Dakota by the
State Legislature in 1943. It was introduced from Asia to the U.S. (Oregon) in
1881 and into South Dakota in 1898. Pheasants are
easily recognized by their colorful plumage.
South Dakota, Delaware and Rhode Island are the only three U.S. States that have selected non-native birds as
the Official State Bird.
Go to
Delaware State Bird (Blue Hen).
Go to Rhode Island
State Bird (Rhode Island Red Hen).
South Dakota State Bird Books
Return to 50 State
Birds Page
Return to Bird Watching
Bliss Home Page
|
