# Found this



## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

So this is just a picture from the interwebs but I found one just like him today. I have never even heard of this and I'm still not sure what it technically is. I found one site that says a ringneck with tenebrosus. Another says a Melanistic mutant pheasant. Either way it is a cool looking bird.


----------



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Out of curiosity, were you near a pheasant farm?


----------



## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

It appears to be a piece of Star Wars merch that has escaped it's handlers.


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Choot em


----------



## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

Bax* said:


> Out of curiosity, were you near a pheasant farm?


No just in some ones corn field.


----------



## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Some pheasant farms do turn out a fair number of pheasants that look something like that. They come in an interesting variety of colors, and we shot several when my dad belonged to a pheasant club. We saved the skins from a few of our favorites.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

mikevanwilder said:


> So this is just a picture from the interwebs but I found one just like him today. I have never even heard of this and I'm still not sure what it technically is. I found one site that says a ringneck with tenebrosus. Another says a Melanistic mutant pheasant. Either way it is a cool looking bird.


Seen quite a few like that on Maui, on the way up to the top of the Volcano... dunno how or why but that place is crawling with pheasants, hundreds of them along the roads fighting. The other islands has out of control chicken populations but apparently its that way with pheasants on Maui.

Either way, the purple pheasants are pretty cool to see.

-DallanC


----------



## tigerpincer (Dec 5, 2009)

Pheasant farms put out both these black(melanistic) & White (Albino)pheasants. Has something to do with the sheer numbers of birds being bred and color mutations or something. Kinda like the white Albino Elk or trout raised in farms. Theyre still just ring neck pheasants. Hawaii actually has several different kinds of pheasants. The black one is called a Nepal Kalij pheasant. They have a green pheasant as well as the ringneck. theirb all gorgeous birds.


----------



## USMARINEhuntinfool (Sep 15, 2007)

Melanistic Mutant lots of bird farms raise them. My brother used to raise them for fun and bird dog training. Surprised you saw one in the wild they don't generally survive as they are easier for predators to spot and pen raised birds to boot. Likely someone in the area you were has been raising them and he was released or got loose.


----------



## Ali-MAc (Jul 12, 2013)

If you see a golden one then fly tiers will pay a lot for the skin


----------



## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

I use to have a small bird farm in Wellsville. I would always have a few melanistics pop up every year. I would always get calls from a lady from Logan who had a fly tying business. She always wanted the breast feathers from my melanistics, the lemon flanks from my wood ducks and the cape feathers from my goldens.


----------



## kstorrs (Oct 29, 2012)

I had some that were dubbed the name "Green Mutant" when I was 13. The neighbors dog tore through the side of my pheasant run and killed a couple of them. We would see the rooster every now and again around the neighborhood for a few months after that. Never could catch him.


----------



## TAK (Sep 9, 2007)

Its a melanistic. Guessing that there is a bird farm, walk in access or someone raising birds for training near by. Last winter I found a black hen while out training dogs.


----------

