1pheas4, originally posted this link, I pulled it up again because of the wealth of information it contains. We have all heard the old saying " a picture is worth a thousand words".
http://blog1.poco.cn/myBlogDetail-htx-id-5459925-userid-6419191-pri--n-0.xhtml
Even though these photos were taken in northern China in the same area, one can clearly see that the roosters have various sizes of ring size (white collar on the neck). The first photo the rooster looks more like a regular Chinese ringneck (P. c. torquatus) or even a Korean ringneck ( P.c. karpowi).
In the last photo the rooster has the classical markings of Manchurian ringneck (P. c. pallasi) with a broad collar and a white spot on the cheek.
First of all we have to remember that all of the True Pheasants (ring-necked type) sub-species what is called the grey-rumped pheasant family, naturally overlap and interbreed. The hens of all of these subspecies look alike.
So those photos may have been take in northern China just north of the Korean border where in the natural wild world the Chinese ring-necked pheasant (P.c. torqatus), the Manchurian ring-necked pheasant (P.c. pallasi) and the Korean ring-necked pheasant (P.c. karpowi) all naturally merge or overlap.
Notice that all of the authentic wild roosters and hens maintain an alert posture and all have yellow iris.
This is why I feel yellow eyes are important on wild hen pheasants and this is only a theory. The yellow iris may enhance their night time vision helping them quickly escape night time and 24/7 predators. All of the wild hens along the predator loaded upper Rio Grande after almost 100 years in the wild, have yellow iris.
Owls have similar colored iris and excellent night vision. It may have something to do with the rods and cones and light.
Those authentic wild pheasants are beautiful. We need to get more authentic wild pheasant blood (genes) imported to north America to maintain a wild, wary and predator alert gene pool. And expand the wild pheasant range to all of Kansas, all of Oklahoma and north Texas.
http://blog1.poco.cn/myBlogDetail-htx-id-5459925-userid-6419191-pri--n-0.xhtml
Even though these photos were taken in northern China in the same area, one can clearly see that the roosters have various sizes of ring size (white collar on the neck). The first photo the rooster looks more like a regular Chinese ringneck (P. c. torquatus) or even a Korean ringneck ( P.c. karpowi).
In the last photo the rooster has the classical markings of Manchurian ringneck (P. c. pallasi) with a broad collar and a white spot on the cheek.
First of all we have to remember that all of the True Pheasants (ring-necked type) sub-species what is called the grey-rumped pheasant family, naturally overlap and interbreed. The hens of all of these subspecies look alike.
So those photos may have been take in northern China just north of the Korean border where in the natural wild world the Chinese ring-necked pheasant (P.c. torqatus), the Manchurian ring-necked pheasant (P.c. pallasi) and the Korean ring-necked pheasant (P.c. karpowi) all naturally merge or overlap.
Notice that all of the authentic wild roosters and hens maintain an alert posture and all have yellow iris.
This is why I feel yellow eyes are important on wild hen pheasants and this is only a theory. The yellow iris may enhance their night time vision helping them quickly escape night time and 24/7 predators. All of the wild hens along the predator loaded upper Rio Grande after almost 100 years in the wild, have yellow iris.
Owls have similar colored iris and excellent night vision. It may have something to do with the rods and cones and light.
Those authentic wild pheasants are beautiful. We need to get more authentic wild pheasant blood (genes) imported to north America to maintain a wild, wary and predator alert gene pool. And expand the wild pheasant range to all of Kansas, all of Oklahoma and north Texas.
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