The ring-necked pheasant, which became the state bird of South Dakota, is commonly found in agriculture farmlands with crops of corn, wheat, oats, barley or hay, or areas with grasslands mixed with small woodlands. The bird also inhabits wetlands with suitable dry microsites. Food Pheasants feed about an hour after sunrise. They will even eat mice or snails. Breeding Season Courtship may start in February or March and last until August.
Males call loudly, like a domestic rooster, to attract mates and define territories.
Males strut before females with their ear tuft feathers raised and their red facial skin around the eyes engorged and prominent. The successful male is often polygynous. He may mate with several hens, which select their nest sites within the male's crowing area. From as few as five to as many as twenty three eggs have been reported in nest sites, with the average number equaling about a dozen. At times, two hens may lay their eggs in one nest.