Info About Pheasants

There are several websites on the Internet where you can find info on pheasants, but here you will find out the basic details that a pheasant hunter should know, without having to read the whole story. The Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. This bird is also known as the Common or English Pheasant, or simply pheasant. Their origins can be traced back to the Orient, but were later on introduced to Nova Scotia for hunting purposes in the 10th century. However, in the 1600s they have become extinct, but nowadays they are widespread.

Pheasants will live just about anywhere they can find a field or some tall grass. If there is no immediate potential danger, these birds choose to walk in a silent manner. However, if by any chances you see one fly and you can listen carefully enough, you will notice that its wings produce an interesting whistling sound.

It is common pheasant info knowledge that after a fresh snowfall, you should watch for their tracks as these birds will leave tracks that are distinctive enough for hunters to identify.

If you look closely, you will most likely be impressed by the long toes of these birds.

Later on, in late March, intense fights break out between males, marking the beginning of their spring.

Any male pheasant (generally referred to as a cock or rooster) shows a plumage of bright brown as well as green, white and purple markings, regularly together with a white and quite noticeable ring around the neck, having the head green with distinguishing red patches. The male pheasants are polygynous and are often escorted by their own harem, consisting of several female birds. The female pheasant, generally refer to as a hen, is without any doubt, less ostentatious in comparison to the males, featuring a monotonous mottled coffee plumage all over their bodies.

These birds can be found in woodland as well as scrub, and feed at ground level mainly on grain, but also on invertebrates and various types of leaves. The pheasant settles in trees during the night and are known to lay their nests on the naked soil, generating a clutch of about ten eggs over a course of two, up to three weeks in April and June.

Moving on towards their incubation habits. The incubation stage lasts approximately 23 to 26 days and after hatching from their eggshells, the young chicks will stay close to the hen for several weeks.

They will grow rapidly and by the time they reach just 15 weeks old, they will look just about the same as the adults do, something that you cannot see on most of the other birds.

A full-size adult pheasant can reach between 50 and 90 cm in length and has a remarkably long tail, which in many cases represents half of its body. Despite the fact that these birds are fully capable of flying over short distances, they prefer running. However, if they are startled, they will most likely suddenly burst upwards at significant speeds with a distinctive "whirring" wing sound. Their flight speed is only from 27 to 38 mph when cruising, but if they are chased, they can fly up to 60 mph, pretty impressive for a bird of this size.

Pheasant farming is a common practice, and is sometimes done intensively, especially in North America and the United Kingdom. The birds are supplied both to hunting preserves/estates and restaurants, with smaller numbers being available for home cooks. While some don't like the dry and tough meat of a pheasant, others enjoy eating the meat of a farm-raised pheasant. Speaking of pheasant farms, they have approximately 10 million birds in the U.S. and 35 million more in the United Kingdom.