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Ring-necked Pheasant Cock Fight

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) photos by Larry Jordan

I happened upon this Ring-necked Pheasant cock fight at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge as I mentioned in a previous post.  I thought I would put some of the better action photos in a group of collages  and post them.  If you click on any of the collage photos it will take you to a larger image of a single cock fight action shot.

It started as I was leaving the refuge and a pickup truck stopped in front of me and looked down this long trail in the grass.  There was a pair of Ring-necked Pheasant cocks chasing each other down, what appeared to be a well worn trail.

Lucky for me, they turned around and started running back toward me, then away again.  When they got about 50 yards away, they started in.

As you can see, it was pretty intense at times, just like two roosters going at it, but it never looked really serious to me.

If you look at the two birds in this photo, you will notice that the one on the right has white eyebrows and the one on the left has more gray eyebrows.  I don’t know if this is due to the age of the bird or not but if you know why, please fill us in.

It was fun to watch and I actually filmed a video of part of the event.  It is a little shaky because I was so far away and using my digiscoping setup but I think the 40 seconds is worth a look.

To see more great bird photos, check out Bird Photography Weekly and World Bird Wednesday!

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • JM March 29, 2011, 9:43 am

    WOW! Not only these birds are awesome but also the shots of the fight are fantastic! Great work.

  • dreamfalcon March 29, 2011, 10:48 pm

    Lucky you being able to observe that, Larry!
    Are you sure, the pheasant didn’t here that music – they “dance” just perfectly to it! Great work.

  • Boom & Gary March 30, 2011, 10:07 am

    What a great series to witness!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

  • theconstantwalker March 30, 2011, 12:56 pm

    I have witnessed the Pheasants in Cheshire (bred for sport) fighting on my commute to work. A spectacle to see…well done for capturing the action and sharing it.

  • Sondra March 30, 2011, 1:37 pm

    What action!…I saw one of these running around Canarsie, (Brooklyn) NY…I figured it escaped one of those live meat markets!

  • Bill S. March 30, 2011, 4:49 pm

    Wonderful post. it is that time of the year and a lot of male birds are fighting for the rights of the breeding grounds. You did a wonderful job.

  • YourBirdOasis.com March 30, 2011, 6:53 pm

    Fantastic footage! I’ve seen a whole lot of pheasants in my day, but never have I seen anything like this. As for the eyebrows, I’m afraid I have no idea if that is age related or what?

  • springman March 30, 2011, 7:23 pm

    What a sight. Isn’t that just the way? The best action occurs when your driving away. Luck for us you caught this incredible action. Oh, the sound track to your video is a perfect fit!

  • Rebecca March 30, 2011, 8:59 pm

    Great series of photos.. I love the video!

  • Fotokarusellen March 31, 2011, 12:47 am

    A great set of action images. Well captured.

  • Mick March 31, 2011, 12:07 pm

    Great to see that interaction between the birds and even better to get such great photos.

  • Pat March 31, 2011, 2:49 pm

    Wow! Great captures of the action!

  • Amila April 1, 2011, 12:08 am

    Hi Larry, I love them Pheasants! Great photos,awesome video ! 🙂

  • Sallie (FullTime-Life) April 1, 2011, 12:33 pm

    That whole post is just amazing! The first photo alone is worth the visit — he is such a beautiful guy. But the action shots are incredible.

  • eileen April 2, 2011, 2:57 pm

    Wow Larry, awesome sighting and cool action photos.