DESCRIPTION: 15″. A heavy ground dwelling partridge, brownish with
buffy, black, and rusty markings. A black band extends through each eye
and joins the lower throat. Distinguished from the quail by lighter
color, lack of a head plume, and a red-orange bill.
[Illustration: _Chukar_]
PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced on Hawaii in 1949, on Maui in 1953.
Kilauea—Occasional on the slopes of Mauna Loa, descending as far as the
rim of Kilauea Crater. Haleakala—Common in open lava slopes inside and
out of the crater but especially along the drive to the summit.
VOICE: Chickenlike cackles and clucks, sometimes quite loud.
They are well camouflaged to blend with Hawaii’s gray lava and are not
usually seen until one or more flushes from an open or even bare slope.
Then they will fly downslope, sometimes for hundreds of yards, land, and
again merge invisibly with the somber background.
During the breeding season in late spring and summer the birds pair up;
at other times of the year you may encounter coveys of a dozen or more.
RING-NECKED PHEASANT _Phasianus colchicus torquatus_
(also Chinese pheasant)
DESCRIPTION: Male 33″-36″; female 20″. _Male_: A rich chestnut-brown
bird with a conspicuous _white collar_ at the base of a dark green neck,
and an extremely long pointed tail. Hybridizes freely with the Japanese
blue pheasant, producing various combinations of ring-necked and blue
plumage. _Female_: Dull brown with a shorter tail than the male, similar
to the Japanese blue hen.
[Illustration: _Ring-necked pheasant cock_]
PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced from China about 1865, now widely
distributed on all main islands. Kilauea—Pure ring-necks are quite rare
but Japanese blue hybrids are not uncommon in grassy openings,
especially along the Mauna Loa Strip road. Haleakala—One of the most
common birds of the park, both inside and out of the crater.
VOICE: The cocks crow throughout the breeding season (January-July) with
a violent staccato _koor-káck_.
Optimum pheasant habitat is large open grassy areas interspersed with
brush cover, and since this condition prevails on the slopes of
Haleakala and along the Mauna Loa Strip road, these birds are found in
both sections of the park. Your first view of one will likely be when it
flushes out with a great flurry of wingbeats alongside a road or trail
in these grasslands. Family broods with as many as 10 chicks may be seen
from April through August.
JAPANESE BLUE PHEASANT _Phasianus colchicus versicolor_
(also versicolor or green pheasant)
DESCRIPTION: Male about 27″, female 20″. _Male_: Has a blue-green back,
iridescent green or purple breast, and long tail feathers. Appears
darker than the ring-necked pheasant and lacks the white collar.
_Female_: Brownish birds with long tails, indistinguishable from the
ring-necked hen.
PARK DISTRIBUTION: Introduced from Japan prior to 1900. Has lost its
identity on most islands due to hybridization with the ring-neck.
Kilauea—The park includes perhaps the best habitat in the islands for
this species. Pure Japanese blue males are common along the Mauna Loa
Strip road and occasional on the Chain of Craters road or the Crater Rim
drive and to the west. Hybrids will also be seen. Haleakala—Nearly all
are ring-necked pheasants here.
VOICE: The cock-crow is similar to that of the ring-neck, but somewhat
higher in pitch.
This species has adapted to the moist open-forest and grassland, while
the ring-neck prefers drier areas. Blues seem to have established a
niche on the southern slopes of Mauna Loa between 4,000 and 7,000 feet
elevation where mists are frequent, sometimes for days at a time.