Several attempts
have been made to establish these natives
of Asia as resident game birds in Arizona,
the most recent being in the late 1960s and
early 1970s when the small white-winged race
of the ring-necked pheasant found in Afghanistan
was released in farmlands along the Gila,
San Pedro, and other river valleys. A handsome,
unmistakable bird, both sexes of this pheasant
have long pointed tails, but it is the cocks
or roosters that are unrivaled in their plumage.
Possessing iridescent green heads offset
by ear-tufts and a crimson-wattled cheek
patch, the rooster also has a purplish chest,
a soot-colored belly, distinctively dotted
golden flanks, white wing epaulets, and a
handsomely barred tail. Cocks usually weigh
more than 2.5 pounds, while the beige- and
sand-colored hens average between 1.5 and
2 pounds. Both sexes, but especially the
males, typically give a cackle on being flushed
that once heard is always remembered.
Natural History
Pheasant populations persisting in Arizona are largely confined to agricultural
areas having a relatively high humidity (e.g., citrus orchards in the Yuma
and Mesa areas) or high enough in elevation to escape the desiccating heat
of Sonoran Desert summers (e.g., the Virgin River and Verde River valleys).
In such locations, a rooster will acquire a harem of from one to three
hens, with mating commencing in early April. By mid-May most of the hens
are nesting and of no further interest to him, and he will abandon his
territorial patrols by the end of the month. The peak of hatching is during
the last week of May, the most arid time in Arizona, which is one of the
reasons why pheasants have not become established here. The youngsters
are covered with yellow and brown down, striped in brown and black, and
are remarkably self-sufficient. After only about two weeks, they are capable
of flight and remain with the hen for only another two months or so before
making their own way in the world. Pheasants roost on the ground or the
low branches of trees, and the typical hiding cover is a patch of rank
weeds, a stand of cattails, or a dense jungle of salt-cedars. Primary foods
are cultivated greens and grains-alfalfa, barley sprouts, and kernels of
maize, barley, and corn.
Hunting and Trapping History
Pheasants have always been a specialty game bird in Arizona, and are only
taken by a small cadre of hunters, who either obtain one of the limited
hunt permits periodically available, hunt with falcons, or hunt with a
bow and arrows. With the cessation of the Department's experimental pheasant
program in 1973, hunter numbers have never exceeded 100 in any given year
and the annual harvest excluding birds taken in game farms has been less
than 50 birds.
Habitat
