Birds

Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus in Kissena Corridor Park, Queens, NY

March 12, 2010 by Corey 5 Comments

As I described in my recent blog post about my walk across Queens, I was fortunate enough to have a male Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus cross my path as I made my way through the Kissena Corridor Park.  It was perhaps the most cooperative pheasant ever; though Europeans mostly refer to P. colchicus as Common Pheasant it is not so common anymore in New York State since the state stopped stocking them for hunters, and it is probably only a matter of time before the introduced species is all but extirpated.  Already, whenever I bring up Ring-necked Pheasants among long-time Queens birders I have to prepare myself for the sad litany of locations where they used to be found but are found no more.

Sad as the gradual decline of the pheasant in New York State might be the loss of this gorgeous non-native species is more than offset by the near-miraculous return and spread of the Wild Turkey, a bird that many thought had gobbled its last in the Empire State.  But I digress.  This post, after all, is supposed to be about the amazingly beautiful and confiding Ring-necked Pheasant that I digiscoped over a five-minute period recently.  I really have nothing more to add other than the picture.  Enjoy!

Isn’t this pheasant pleasant?  I sure thought so…

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.