Vocalization Behavior of the Ring-Necked Pheasant

Males and females differentially adjust vigilance levels as group size increases: effect on optimal group size

“…An assumption of this model is that, after detection, information transfer is shared instantly and perfectly around the group; therefore, if one individual detects the predator before it is close enough to attack then all group members escape. This is a reasonable assumption in pheasants which give alarm calls (Heinz & Gysel, 1970). We used real data derived from observations to calculate detection probabilities for harems of up to five females.…”

“…Foraging typically occurs in open landscapes (Bertram, 1978) where pheasants face high levels of predation from terrestrial and aerial predators, including foxes, Vulpes vulpes, and goshawks, Accipiter gentilis (Brittas, Marcstr€ om, Kenward, & Karlbom, 1992;Kenward, Marcstrom, & Karlbom, 1981) with around 25% of birds being predated in their first year (Turner, 2004). Pheasants give vocal alarm calls (Heinz & Gysel, 1970) and thus can benefit from collective vigilance. It is suggested that females join harems to reduce their risk of being predated, and indeed there is speculation that females may select males because they provide high levels of vigilance (Ridley & Hill, 1987).…”

Effect of sight barriers in pens of breeding ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus): I. Behaviour and welfare

“…There was some evidence of other forms of sexual display such as crowing and wing-flapping described in wild pheasants (e.g. Heinz and Gysel, 1970), harassment of females and interruption of mating attempts, but there was little overt evidence of the courtship displays and harem formation described in wild populations (Ridley and Hill 1987;Mateos 1998). It may be that these activities are genuinely rare even in wild populations, or that they are more frequent at different periods of the breeding cycle, or at different times of day than our sampling period.…”

“…Taber 1949). Despite the large number of birds used to produce stock for release into the countryside, there is relatively little research directed to exploring the behavioural requirements of breeding and growing pheasants in Collias and Taber, 1951;Schenkel, 1956Schenkel, , 1958Heinz and Gysel, 1970) and more recently as a model species to test theories of sexual selection (e.g. von Schantz et al, 1989;Mateos, 1998).…”

A quantitative morphological analysis of the inner ear of galliform birds

“…Third, galliform species vary significantly from one another in vocal repertoire. Many species, including quail, turkey and chickens, produce an array of vocalizations that span a wide range of frequencies (e.g., Collins and Goldsmith, 1998;Heinz and Gysel, 1970;Takahashi and Hasegawa, 2008). Some galliform species also incorporate non-vocal sounds into their acoustic displays, which tend to be low frequency (i.e., <500 Hz).…”