South Dakota State Bird

South Dakota designated the Ring-necked Pheasant in 1943 because of its deep tie to South Dakota farm country and its long-standing place in the state's open-field identity and hunting culture. It was a practical symbolic choice: familiar to residents, visible across much of the state, and easy to connect with local schools, gardens, farms, parks, or conservation culture.

Males are striking, with a green head, white neck ring, coppery body, and long pointed tail, while females are mottled buff-brown and much harder to spot. In South Dakota, it looks especially at home across grain country, shelterbelts, prairie grass, and cattail-lined farm edges.

Ring-necked Pheasants run through grass and stubble, flush explosively when pressured, and depend on a mix of nesting cover, grain fields, and winter shelter. It uses farm country, shelterbelts, grasslands, and weedy field edges well, which helps explain why the bird feels familiar well beyond protected areas.

In South Dakota, start with Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Pierre National Grassland, and Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge. Scan grassy field margins and roadside cover, especially where grain fields meet cattails or thick shelterbelts. Dawn and late afternoon are usually best because pheasants move between feeding and cover with less heat shimmer and traffic. These kinds of places match the bird's preferred mix of farm country, shelterbelts, grasslands, and weedy field edges.

The Ring-necked Pheasant is currently listed as LC. Pheasant numbers rise or fall with grass cover, winter severity, and how much nesting habitat remains in intensively farmed country.