F1 rooster?

[quail hound]

I shot this rooster that I am pretty sure is the offspring of a wild he and a released roosters. They release around 1,500 roosters every year on 10,00 acres of rice land up north for us lowly detected pheasant hunters. I've hunted up there for 3 years now and I am saddened to see the sharp decline in wild birds on this land. The first year we were flushing 5 or 6 hens a day and about 1 in 3 roosters harvested were wild birds. Last year we were flushing 2 or 3 hens a day and about 1 in 6 roosters bagged were wild. This year we only flushed 6 hens in 2 weeks of hunting and this was the only wild bird harvested on the area.

Like I said I'm almost positive this bird was fathered by a released rooster from last year. Pure wild birds up there are generally darker, have a narrow ring and the ring is never full around the neck, most have close to a 1in gap in the throat area. The birds released are lighter with lots of white on the church windows and a thick full ring. I wish I had a pic of a normal wild bird to compare to but this was the only wild bird I harvested up there this year. The bird in question is in the fore front with a planted bird in the back. Notice the wide ring on him that is almost completely full and the "near wild" plumage.

 

[1pheas4]

Sorry to hear your seeing a decline in birds out there this year Rob. Glad to hear you managed to bag on

A full/wide/connected ring most likely came from the Manchurian/cross stock. Such traits are showing up in some areas of SD birds too. Including a white speck behind the wattle on some birds.

I think your observation is a good one. He most likely came from released stock (hen or rooster).

 

[FLDBRED]

Don't you just love these birds! Is it possible that the bird in question is a "hold-over bird" that appearance has changed with age? In Pa. the released birds look different at the end of the season, due to them reaching maturity.

I have watched truly wild birds in NJ in the same flock, look completely different from each other. Some are almost all black with no white ring at all, in the same flock others resemble the traditional Ringneck. These birds are around Giant Stadium!

 

[quail hound]

No he was a young of year bird. No nostril holes from peepers and a craw full of rice. It takes the released birds at least a week to figure out the rice is delicious. I had another rooster blow out 50yds in front of the dogs, then a hen and then the bird in question. No hens are released out there only roosters. Possibly just an odd bird but possibly an f1.

 

[jmac]

Very Nice QH,

At least your getting into them. :thumbsup::10sign::cheers:

 

[Preston1]

Don't you just love these birds! Is it possible that the bird in question is a "hold-over bird" that appearance has changed with age? In Pa. the released birds look different at the end of the season, due to them reaching maturity.

I have watched truly wild birds in NJ in the same flock, look completely different from each other. Some are almost all black with no white ring at all, in the same flock others resemble the traditional Ringneck. These birds are around Giant Stadium!

The ringless pheasants near Giant Stadium in NJ, may be a remnants of wild Sichuans or Strauchi pheasants released 25 years ago.

Pa. New York and NJ obtained Sichuan pheasants from Michigan over 25 years ago.

Photo of Sichuan or Strauchi pheasant (P. c. strauchi) below:
http://www.birdwatchingchina.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Common-Pheasant.jpg

They gave up on the Sichuan pheasant program too quickly, this is a predator wary and alert bird, they should have made them available to commercial game breeders.

 

[calamari]

There seems to be lots of variations and cross breeding in pheasants due to all the planting and differences in varieties used by growers. Take a look at this site and the three pictures of the Mongolian, Caucauses and Chinese Ringneck. You'll see parts of all of them in what are shot in Calif. Look at the narrow neck band discussed in the first photo. The site has a description of distinguishing characteristics for the subspecies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Pheasant

 

[quail hound]

Yes our pheasants are mutt birds but I could tell a Graylodge wild bird from a Los Banos bird in hand. I'm sure the imperial valley birds have there own distinct look as well as they are said to be of almost pure Chinese stock but diluted I'm sure by other introductions.