Common Pheasant (Ring-necked Pheasant)

A long, tapered tail feather from a male Common Pheasant. The bird itself is a large, colorful galliform with the male sporting a metallic green head, red face wattle, and a white neck ring. The tail is its most striking feature, held horizontally or tilted during elaborate courtship displays.

Golden-brown to rufous base color with bold, dark brown to black transverse bars (banding). The rachis is light-colored/buff. The banding is more pronounced on the outer vanes.

Densely interlocked pennaceous barbs throughout most of the vane for structural integrity; short plumulaceous (downy) barbs present at the very base near the calamus.

Relatively stiff and coarse texture; matte finish on the dark bands with a slight golden sheen on the lighter sections. Very durable and wind-resistant.

Extreme length for a non-raptorial bird; unique 'tiger-stripe' transverse black bars on a golden-brown background; stiff, pearly-white rachis.

Open fields, grasslands, agricultural lands, hedgerows, and brushy areas near water sources.

Native to Asia but widely introduced across Europe, North America (Canada to Northern Mexico), and Australia/New Zealand as a game bird.

Primary consumer of seeds and insects; serves as a major prey source for hawks, foxes, and coyotes. Often used as an indicator species for the health of grassland ecosystems.

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) feathers are wider and more rounded; Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) feathers are more vibrantly orange/red with wider spacing between bars.

Male pheasants are polygynous and will defend a harem of females. They were first introduced to North America in the late 19th century and have since become a staple of the American prairie landscape.

Good condition. The vane is mostly intact with minor fraying at the tip. The calamus is clear, suggesting a natural molt rather than a plucked feather.