Ringneck Pheasant Animal Information
Ringneck Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) - The Ringneck Pheasant is not the fastest of flyers due to its small wing area to body weight ratio. Although, it more than makes up for it with its keen senses, the ability to hide in the sparsest of vegetation, and the ability to run like a road runner from cover to cover with powerful 18 inch strides. Although the species was first introduced to America in the late 1700s, it wasn’t until the 1880s that stocking them became successful when 28 Chinese pheasants were set free in Willamette Valley, Oregon. A dozen years later 50,000 were harvested. A beautiful bird with a symphony of colors, the average rooster measures 30 to 36 inches from beak to tail and typically weighs from two and a half to three pounds. The hens are slightly smaller with mottled brown coloration, like the Ruffed Grouse and have a shorter tail.
