The ring-necked pheasant is South Dakota’s state bird, originally imported from Asia in the early 1900s. The male bird has distinctive coloration and is considered a delicacy. The bird’s habitat is mainly agricultural, and it lays six to twelve eggs on the ground. The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks has a plan to conserve and protect the bird’s habitat.
South Dakota’s state bird is the ring-necked pheasant or Phasianus colchicus. Originally imported from Asia as game in the early 1900s, it was officially declared the state bird of South Dakota in 1943. It has distinctive coloration, with a white ring around the neck of the male bird, which gives it its name.
The male ring-necked pheasant is an extremely graceful bird, with a greenish sheen to the head feathers, bright red markings around the eyes, black, red, and gold feathers on the body, and a long tail. Females are plainer, with speckled brown feathers and a shorter tail, which camouflage them well. They are the size of a chicken, with an equally small head and elongated neck. The adult male pheasant has spurs on its legs which are used to fight other males, mainly during the breeding season.
Because of its delicious meat and very limited habitat in the Midwest, the ring-necked pheasant is considered a delicacy both in South Dakota and especially elsewhere where it is more difficult to obtain. With its status as the state bird of South Dakota, the ring-necked pheasant is described in flight over Mount Rushmore in the South Dakota State Quarter released in 2006.
The habitat of the ring-necked pheasant is mainly agricultural and feeds on grasses, seeds and sometimes insects. During the breeding season, one male often protects a number of females from any other male intrusion. They make their nests on the ground and lay six to twelve eggs that are uniformly brown or olive in color. Normally only half of the young survive, depending on weather conditions, the presence of predators such as foxes and hawks, and the availability of food.
Each US state has a number of state symbols, from state animals to birds to trees to flags, each handpicked by the specific state. The South Dakota state bird is joined by the state animal, the coyote, the state flower, the pasque, and the state tree, the Black Hills spruce. All these symbols inspire state patriotism.
Numbers of the South Dakota state bird are still high, although it appears they may be declining, most likely due to changing agricultural practices across the state. The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks has a plan in place to conserve and protect the collared pheasant’s habitat, ensuring that the bird population does not decline. They work hand-in-hand with public and commercial game farms scattered throughout South Dakota.
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