Tony, does that pheasant have a white band around it's neck. Ours here do, but I see pheasants without the white band in Canada.
The pheasant we all pretty much shoot is a Common Pheasant aka "ditch chicken" in the midwest or "mountain chicken" in China. They can vary greatly in color from a stereotypical South Dakota state bird 'ring neck' to a melanistic mutant - that's any color you may typically see on a pheasant's feathers. If you ever get to see a serious volume of pen-raised pheasant, you'll see variations that you'd think got in a paintball fight. Imagine a bird that's all blue, that bright blue you see on the side of their head, or one that's almost completely purple or green. They come in some strange colors.....
