Phasianus colchicus Linnaeus
Ring-necked Pheasant
Phasianus colchicus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 158. (Type locality, Africa, Asia = Rion.)
Phasianus torquatus Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 47 (Guam).
Geographic range.—Eastern China and northeastern Tonkin. Widely introduced into North America, Europe, and New Zealand. In Micronesia: Mariana Islands—Guam (introduced).
Remarks.—On July 4, 1945, fifty-seven Ring-necked Pheasants (sixteen cocks and forty-one hens) were liberated at Guam by personnel of the U. S. Navy. The birds were eleven weeks old when released, having been brought by plane from the hatcheries of the State Division of Game and Fish in California. Twenty-four birds were liberated at the site of CincPoa headquarters near Mt. Tenjo. Thirty-three were placed near the FEA dairy farm, approximately one and one-fourth miles west of Price School. One month after release the birds were present at the liberation sites, although there were reports that some had drifted as far away as a mile or more. The birds were not banded. This liberation has been reported on by Quinn (1946:32-33) and by the author (1946b:211 and 1948:47). In using the name P. colchicus, I am following Delacour (in McAtee, 1945:8) and the twenty-third supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union check-list of North American birds (Auk, 65, 1948:440).