FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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UNIQUE GAME BIRD By Lee Franks Many of you who frequent the Park have by now, no doubt, encountered the magnificently colored game bird that has been roaming the woodland areas of the Park for the past 5-6 months. It’s hard to believe one’s eyes when sighting this bird crossing a trail dragging its very long tail behind. Hikers and joggers stop me and ask, “What is it?” and “Where did it come from?” The best response I could offer at the time was that it certainly was not a Ring-necked Pheasant or Wild Turkey, which are common in the Bay Area. Local field guides were no help, so I began web surfing, and here is what I found.
Male Golden Pheasants (40 to 44 inches long with a 32 inch tail) are truly striking birds. They have a peach or light orange cape. Each feather has a dark edging to it, giving a “scaly” appearance. The breast is bright scarlet red, fading to a chestnut coloration toward the lower parts of the abdomen and the flanks. The upper back is green in color, and the rest of the upper parts are golden. Their wings are dark red and blue. Their long curved tail feathers are black with cinnamon colored specks, with the tip showing buff coloration. In the minds of many who are engaged in raising pheasants, the Golden is unsurpassed in its brilliance and beauty. The female, which is smaller (25 to 27 inches) and has a shorter tail (14 to 15 inches), is predominantly brown. There is dark barring present over her body, save over the bi-colored face and throat. The sides and breast have brown and buff barring, and the abdomen is simply buff colored. Courtship occurs in the spring, with a first clutch of eggs usually laid in April. Each clutch averages between 5 and 12 eggs. Thousands of these pheasants are raised in captivity every year, and as any game bird breeder will tell you, there are few more beautiful sights than a pen full of these gorgeous pheasants dashing about, often in their eagerness leaping over one another’s heads and posturing in their statuesque manner before the “hens.” The spectacular breeding display of the cock is a sudden, laterally positioned act where the body appears flattened with the cape, back, and tail feathers spread to provide the female maximum view of his brilliant color and markings. They also display their neck ruff like a magnificent ornament by hiding their entire head and beak. In the wild, Golden Pheasants inhabit nearly inaccessible habitats. Filled with dense vegetation, often the wooded mountain ledges and slopes these birds live on are treacherous and rocky. As a result, little is known about their habitats, though it is certain that they share their ranges with other birds. In captivity, Golden Pheasants are reported to get along well with other game birds and water birds, but, oddly enough, they may not be as compatible with other species of pheasants as they are with other birds. They tend to be rather secretive. They can fly, but their flight is awkward and the birds are much more graceful on the ground. Whether this bird entered the Park as a result of escaping from captivity, or by intentional release by its owner, we may never know. What we do know is that it cannot survive long term out of captivity. Coopers hawks are one predator that comes to mind. I have asked Ricardo Trejo, Park Ranger, to determine the feasibility of capturing the bird. Once captured, it could be turned over to any one of several organizations in the area that have large aviaries. |
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It’s a male Golden
Pheasant, one of 140 pheasant species in existence. The species was brought
to Europe and North America in the 18th century from its natural
homeland of China. George Washington is believed to be the first American
known to have kept and raised Golden Pheasants, which he did at Mount
Vernon. The Chinese have recognized the golden pheasant for centuries in
art, literature and mythology. Others have claimed that the pheasant is the
Phoenix of Greek mythology, a bird fabled to have lived for exactly 500
years. The pheasant had a cyclical life, and at the end of each half
millennium the pheasants supposedly burned themselves to ashes and then
arose in renewed beauty and immortality. Whatever its actual role has been,
few would question that this pheasant is the most intriguing creature ever
to enliven and beautify Edgewood Park.