Female Ring-necked Pheasant enjoys sanctuary feeders (photo by Mark Faherty)
Only days after this bird was brought to Wellfleet Bay, visitors started asking about her. She is not a rare bird, nor even a native. She’s a ring-necked pheasant, her species native to Asia but, of course, introduced and naturalized pretty successfully all over the world.
Our friends at Wildcare, who cared for the bird for three months, say she may have been hit by a car. Car strikes are not unusual for pheasants which often forage along roadsides near fields and wooded areas.
Ring-necked pheasants, like wild turkeys, generally stick to the ground but they have powerful flight muscles which allow them to escape danger by lifting up almost vertically and very quickly. They can also run fast, if need be.
Male ring-necked pheasant(not at the sanctuary) photo from USFW
With breeding season not too far off, it’s not clear if this female will manage to join up with other females to form a harem under the protection of a far more colorful courting male. It’s unlikely, since pheasants have declined in recent years according to Mass Audubon’s State of the Birds Report, and they don’t seem to live long enough to breed anymore here on the Cape.
The feeder area and butterfly garden have been the best placees to catch a glimpse of this atypical sanctuary bird.