Author Topic: Very strange bird in arkansas (Read 2052 times)

R.W.Dale · « **on:** October 27, 2005, 03:24:37 PM »

Me and a buddy went squirell hunting today and while driving around we spotted a very weird bird standing in the middle of the road. This bird was about the size of a game rooster but with a long tail that kinda drooped like a pheasant. The top of the birds head was very bright orange with red on the sides and down the breast the wings were a bluish grey color and the tail was grey. The bird kinda reminded me of a pecock/ But in the middle of the ozark natonal forest???

mjbgalt · « **Reply #1 on:** October 27, 2005, 04:23:04 PM »

any of these look like your bird?

http://www.uark.edu/misc/kgsmith/birds.html

-Matt

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #2 on:** October 27, 2005, 04:34:57 PM »

Quote from: mjbgalt

any of these look like your bird?

http://www.uark.edu/misc/kgsmith/birds.html

-Matt

Nope not even close I came aopun that page in my internet serches. Herbie1 was able to snap a rather poor picture of the bird with his phone hopefully he will be able to get it posted on the net

shooter · « **Reply #3 on:** October 27, 2005, 06:36:45 PM »

This sounds like a "golden pheasant" to me.Try looking it up on a search engine for pictures,i think its your bird.
Shooter

NONYA · « **Reply #4 on:** October 27, 2005, 06:37:07 PM »

sounds like one of those domesticated pheasents that they raise for the 4h fair.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #5 on:** October 27, 2005, 07:02:28 PM »

Golden pheasant photo courtesy of dorset bird club.

I'm gonna agree that the bird in question must be some kind of pheasent but the bird I saw had the grey coloration of the tail along the back almost up to the top of the head also the feathers on the crown were ORANGE almost the color of my hunting cap

Graybeard · « **Reply #6 on:** October 27, 2005, 07:48:24 PM »

Is that the image of the bird you saw? It's a pheasant. I once knew the name of it but have long since forgotten it. This one was brought into the US from the same general asian area as the ringneck but this one is more tolerant of wet climes like we have in the south so it was hoped it could make it in places the ring neck can't.

Nearly 100% sure that's the bird as I sure remember that gaudy coloration from an artical I read on them being introduced a lot of years ago.

myronman3 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 28, 2005, 02:05:19 AM »

if that is the picture of the bird you saw, it is a golden pheaseant. the orange feathers are used for the tail of royal coachmen fly pattern.

John · « **Reply #8 on:** October 28, 2005, 04:57:42 AM »

I used to see phasants around my place a few years ago. It was a surprise to see them as they just can't live here in the wild in NE Oklahoma...something about chiggers and the chicks.

After I saw about the third bird I found out that there was one of those shooting preservers a couple of miles east. I guess they let some get away now and then..can't shoot em all.

Anyway those birds were raised in cages and put out for folks to shoot, and when they escaped they didn't know how to survive in the wild and would starve to death. One managed to live for several months though because he found where a neighbor of mine put out some feed for the critters and would hit that every day, and then spend the rest of his time in the brush across the road where I could hear him crow in the evenings, but something finally got him, maybe a coyote of a fox.

They are sure nice birds, taste good too.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #9 on:** October 28, 2005, 05:08:50 AM »

Sorry the pic above is not a picture of the Bird I saw in the woods, It is a picture of a golden pheasant I posted for refrence pourpouses.

NONYA · « **Reply #10 on:** October 28, 2005, 07:12:07 AM »

The female of that species is colored just like you explained.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #11 on:** October 28, 2005, 08:42:43 AM »

I spoke with a bioligist from the forestry dpt a bit ago and she said one of their road crews had spotted something similar a couple of weeks ago in the same vacinity of Shores Lake. But the orange head still has everybody stumped.

myronman3 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 02, 2005, 01:51:52 AM »

here are a few more pictures of them, a bit of variation in individual birds it seems.

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/NDG/Pheas/BRKGolden.html

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/NDG/Pheas/RGPheasFReversedTop.JPEG

check it out and let us know.

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #13 on:** November 02, 2005, 02:28:25 AM »

Nope not even close, I'm telling you guys this bird was ORANGE , RED ,GREY and Black, There was not any color anywhere close to being gold on the bird.

bullet maker · « **Reply #14 on:** November 02, 2005, 04:05:29 AM »

Quote from: John

I used to see phasants around my place a few years ago. It was a surprise to see them as they just can't live here in the wild in NE Oklahoma...something about chiggers and the chicks.

After I saw about the third bird I found out that there was one of those shooting preservers a couple of miles east. I guess they let some get away now and then..can't shoot em all.

Anyway those birds were raised in cages and put out for folks to shoot, and when they escaped they didn't know how to survive in the wild and would starve to death. One managed to live for several months though because he found where a neighbor of mine put out some feed for the critters and would hit that every day, and then spend the rest of his time in the brush across the road where I could hear him crow in the evenings, but something finally got him, maybe a coyote of a fox.

They are sure nice birds, taste good too.

Your correct John in that the chicks, cant survive the chiggers, here in eastern Okla. Due to our extreme humidity, which is a natural for chiggers. Grown birds can survive but not the chicks.
As you know, west of I-35, they can survice quite well, (not as much humidity) which means no chiggers.

bullet maker

John · « **Reply #15 on:** November 04, 2005, 06:22:29 AM »

In reference to the origional post, I did see a roadrunner over in the Madison County game management area last spring, could that be the bird?

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #16 on:** November 04, 2005, 08:36:09 AM »

Quote from: John

In reference to the origional post, I did see a roadrunner over in the Madison County game management area last spring, could that be the bird?

Naw, We actually have quite a few roadrunners running around in this aera.

John · « **Reply #17 on:** November 04, 2005, 10:02:36 AM »

Well maybe you'll get it figured out. There were several folks that were taken to the cleaners by promoters in the big bird business several years ago all over the country. They sold breeding stock that was way over priced and promised a good market for breeders and the products of certain exotics like emus.

I spect some folks that got in at first and were smart enough to bail before it was too late might have made some money, but alot of people got left holding the bag, so to speak, and had a bunch of worthless birds on their hands. Some opened the gates and let em out to fend for themselves.

Some were let go up near an area that I used to hunt feral hogs on. I knew they were there, but didn't tell my younger brother hoping he would come upon one while we were hunting. I figured if he flushed one in some good cover it would be worth some grins to see or hear his reaction.

Well, it didn't happen like I hoped it would. He actually saw one along the road one morning, so the cat was out of the bag. One in particular lived for a few years out on its own, but it was smart enough to join some cattle during a couple of winters, and I suppose it got fed along with the cattle. The birds that seemed to be at large must have died out because we haven't seen or heard of them for about three years now.

Cowpox · « **Reply #18 on:** November 16, 2005, 03:23:54 PM »

You and your friend could very well have seen a lesser Prairie Chicken. They are endangered and seldom seen, but their range does include parts of Arkansas. Take a look at this site, and let us know if it looks like your sighting. www.westgov.org/wga/initiatives/HighPlains/leaflet.htm

txpilot · « **Reply #19 on:** November 18, 2005, 05:12:58 AM »

I doubt it would be a lesser prarie chicken, unless he was very lost...or someone illegally had one as a pet and it got out. My vote is its probably someones pet that got out.

Cowpox · « **Reply #20 on:** November 18, 2005, 11:50:25 AM »

Very lost is right txpilot, The first time I looked at the map of their range, I could swear there was a small shaded area that included portions of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. After reading your response, I looked again, and there sure is no shaded area there now ! Dunno, maybe it was steam on my glasses from my hot toddy? If what Krocus seen was a Prairie Chicken, you might be right about an illegal escapee, or it may have hitch-hiked on a truck or train. Or, it is possible one was blown out of tornado ally by a storm ? The suspense is killing me. I hope he lets us know.

BillP · « **Reply #21 on:** December 02, 2005, 06:13:05 PM »

John,
Pen raised pheasants find food just fine. The main reason they don't last is that the predators (mostly hawks & owls) get them. Fox and other four footers get a few but it's the birds that get most of them. Pheasants forever has tried many times to start pheasant populations from pen raised birds but they don't make it.