To tell the truth, I wasn't certain whether I should include ring-necked pheasants with my birding pages. Ring-necked pheasants are not a native American species; they were brought from Europe. Unliked other nonnative birds, the ring-necked pheasant - in Pennsylvania - doesn't survive in the wild; every autumn farm-raised pheasants are dropped into the game lands so that some people can experience the "thrill" of killing.
This year, a hundred thousand ring-necked pheasants are being desposited throughout the game lands of Pennsylvania. Here, at the small game land just north of me, 1320 pheasants will be dropped off overall. The initial drop before the start of the pheasant season included 470 pheasants.
So last Friday in the game land, the day before the season opened, I saw pheasants wandering about. They seem to be without purpose, but the male pheasant is a handsome bird.
