Yesterday we had a ring-necked pheasant behind our house. Last evening it was in our driveway, but when I came too close it ran into nearby shrubs. Ring-necks no longer reproduce in the wild in our area. They are not native to the U.S., but many states have stocked them. The Pennsylvania Game Commission purchases them from growers and releases them in the fall for hunters to shoot.
It cannot be very satisfying to shoot tame birds. Many of them, evidently familiar with vehicles, walk along the road. I am hoping the one I saw yesterday hangs around. It can winter with our chickens. Ringnecks are beautiful birds, and the idea of blasting them with shotguns seems the antithesis of a sport.
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