Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 19:25:33 -0400 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "rick@blazie.net" Subject: Re: Request for ID help - Exotic bird MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Don: Sorry to be slow getting back on this but I got distracted by hawks and warblers. To answer you last question first, yes there are black pheasants, several in fact, although none quite fit the description of your bird. The most likely answer is that the bird is a Ring-necked (Common) Pheasant. There is a melanistic variant, sometimes referred to in the literature by the scientific name 'tenebrosus' that is fairly common in areas where Ring-neckeds are propogated. They are not rare in the UK and I have seen one there, at a distance. I would not have known what it was but the local birder I was with made the call and seemed to think it was unexciting. It is variable but fits closely with your description. I wouldn't risk going any farther without seeing a photograph because the subadult plumages of the black pheasants are typically poorly known. Is there a game farm or propogator in the geenral area? If so, it is probably the source of the bird. Hope this helps. Rick Eirik A.T. Blom 4318 Cowan Place Belcamp, Md 21017 410-575-6086 rick@blazie.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "Simonson, Don (OD/ORS)" To: Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 1:29 PM Subject: [MDOSPREY] Request for ID help - Exotic bird > I live in Darnestown, MD, a semi-rural area 20 miles nw of Washington, DC. > Yesterday my wife saw a strange bird in the yard, we followed it across the > yard and out into a stubble cornfield behind the house. The bird is back > again today. > > It is large, about the size and shape of a Ring-necked Pheasant, but with a > slightly shorter tail. The overall impression is of a completely black > bird, like a crow. when we approached to about 25 feet, we could see small > copper-colored flecks on the back, and an area of slightly bluish > iridescence on the neck. The bill was light gray. The eye and skin around > the eye were black. The neck is long and the legs are long and powerful. > When approached closely, it hunkered down to the ground, then ran for a > dozen yards before taking flight. There was no whirring sound (unlike > Ring-necked Pheasant) when it flew. Long tail coming to a point; but not > nearly as long as the tail of an adult male Ring-necked Pheasant. > > Clearly a gallinaceous bird. Melanistic Ring-necked x Japanese Green > Pheasant??? Is there such a bird as a Black Pheasant? > > Don Simonson, MCP > Information Technology Manager > National Institutes of Health, Office of the Director > Office of Research Services, Veterinary Resources Program > Building 14A, Room 103, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892 > phone: 301-496-3348 > fax: 301-402-2819 > email: Simonson@nih.gov > > ======================================================================= > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================