This ring-necked pheasant is just one of several game birds found throughout the world.
Game birds are wild and traditionally hunted for human consumption. The most common game birds in North America include the pheasant, the quail, the grouse, the wild turkey and wild ducks known as mallards. Hunting game birds is a popular sport but is regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as state agencies to conserve species. Game birds have specific hunting seasons defined by species and may be hunted only with proper licenses and in specified areas.
The Ring Necked Pheasant
The ring-necked pheasant is a ground-foraging game bird that prefers grasslands, marshes and woodland borders. It has a greenish head, red around the eyes and a white ring on the neck. It was originally from Asia but has established itself in the United States and Canada, particularly throughout the Midwest prairies and woodlands in the North and West. During mating season, the ring-necked pheasant males guards a small harem of females. They are largely vegetarians, though they will also eat insects. They build their nests on the ground, where they lay olive-brown eggs. Chicks are born with their eyes open and are able to feed themselves.
The Scaled Quail
Quail eggs are speckled.
The scaled quail is common to northern Mexico and the American Southwest, especially Texas and New Mexico. It lives in arid scrubland and desert grasslands and feeds on seeds, leaves and insects. When chicks are born, they are covered in down and able to follow their mothers. The scaled quail has a white fluffy crest and is often referred to as a "cotton-top" quail. Like other quails, it lays speckled eggs in a nest on the ground. It rarely takes flight and will try to outrun predators.
The Greater Sage Grouse
The Sage Grouse prefers grassland.
The greater sage grouse inhabits mountain grasslands where sage brush is present throughout the Rocky Mountains and upper Northwest plains. During courtship, the males put on mating dance display for females in areas known as "leks." Only a small number of males are picked for mating, and the males do not participate in raising the chicks. The greater sage grouse is a ground forager that prefers plants including flowers, buds and fallen fruit, but it will eat insects. It is considered a "near-threatened" species.
Wild Turkey
The tail fan and colorful neck make the male wild turkey recognizable.
Perhaps the most famous of all North American game fowl, the wild turkey was first taken to Europe around 1500 A.D. for domestication. It is a ground forager and ground nester with a range extending throughout the United States and Mexico in areas of open woodland. Though the highest concentrations are east of Oklahoma and Texas, Wild Turkeys can be found in limited ranges in Western states including California. Males are solitary and chicks flock with females in groups of up to 30 through most of the year and up to 200 in winter. Wild turkeys will eat mostly vegetable matter, as well as insects and even salamanders.
Mallard
Mallards spend much of their time in ponds.
Mallards are easily recognizable, especially the male, which has an iridescent green plumage on its head and neck, a white ring around the base of the neck, and purplish-blue feathers beneath the wings. Mallards are found throughout North America and Eurasia. Many will winter in warmer climates such as the American Gulf states and will breed in the winter in Canada and the northern U.S. They spend much of their time seeking fish in ponds, which are their favorite habitat.
Canada Goose
A mother Canada goose sits on her nest.
One of the largest game birds, the Canada goose actually has a range extending all the way down to Mexico, where it may winter. They may take up permanent residence in the northern half of the United States, but Canada geese are best known for their migratory habits, flying hundreds of miles with the change of seasons in spring and autumn. They prefer marshes and tend to lay two eggs on a ground nest, which the mother will line with down and the male guards. They mate for life, and males will participate in the rearing of the young, guarding the nest while the female incubates the eggs.
Hunting and Conservation
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with state services, regulates the hunting of game birds to seasonal activities and imposes bag limits. It has declared certain areas of federal and state land to be hunting refuges. When hunting migratory birds like duck and geese, hunters need both a state hunting license and a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. They also need a Harvest Information Program number.
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