A couple of weeks ago in Detroit, a ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) was spotted crossing a major urban road, seemingly to get to a nearby park! Although the details of this individual are hard to see in the photo, the presence of a white ring around its neck when zoomed in and the long, pointed tail identify this bird as a ring-necked pheasant. This individual can also be identified as a male pheasant. P. colchicus is a sexually dimorphic species, with females having a shorter tail, mostly brown coloring, and lacking the eponymous neck ring.
P. colchicus are native birds of Asia and parts of Europe. While known in North America as the ring-necked pheasant, in their native range, they are called the common pheasant. There are many subspecies belonging to P. colchicus, each claiming a smaller native range within that of their general species. They were introduced to North America in the 1880s as game birds, but are now present throughout the United States (including Hawaii) and Southern Canada.
Ring-necked pheasants are not commonly observed in major cities. The traditional habitat of this species includes agricultural land, wetlands, and vegetation-dense areas. As anthropogenic infrastructure has developed, these pheasants are now often spotted along highways and rural roads within tall grasses. However, they are yet to widely colonize cities and be as bold as this photographed individual.
Perhaps urban parks and streets are up next for the ring-necked pheasant, only time will tell!
Do you have a photo or video of an urban species doing something unusual? What about a rare plant or animal that you were surprised to find in a city? If so, Tweet at us, and you could be featured as a future observation of the week!
References
Featured image: © William Stephens, some rights reserved (CC-BY)
- New Lit Alert: Metabolic adjustment in urban birds: glycometabolic enzyme activities in urban and rural tree sparrows (passer montanus) - August 3, 2023
- New Lit Alert: Variation in Pheidole nodus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) functional morphology across urban parks - August 1, 2023
- Urban Observation: Groundhogs in Central Park - July 27, 2023
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