Wild Turkey
This article is about a type of bird. For the type of bourbon whiskey, see Wild Turkey (bourbon). The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a large gamebird, one of a number of species of turkey. Adults have a bluish featherless small head, a red throat, long legs and a dark body. They have a long dark fan-shaped tail. Their wings are a glossy bronze. As with many other species of the Galliformes, they exhibit strong sexual dimorphism - males have red wattles on the throat and neck and are significantly larger than females. The breeding habitat is wooded areas, usually with clearings, across most of the United States and parts of southern Canada, where they are permanent residents. They nest on the ground at the bottom of a tree, shrub or in tall grass. Male birds display for females by puffing out their feathers, spreading out their tails, inflating the wattles on their neck and drooping wings. Males are polygamous, and they form territories that may have as many as 5 hens within. The birds forage on the ground or climb shrubs to eat berries. They are omnivorous, eating acorns, seeds, berries, roots and insects, sometimes snakes, frogs or salamanders. They are relatively weak fliers and will escape on foot if possible; at night, these birds roost in trees. They are capable of achieving speeds of 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) in flight. Only the males "gobble"; the females cluck. The males also emit a low-pitched thumping sound. This bird was Benjamin Franklin's preference as the national bird for the United States. It has been adopted as the official game bird of South Carolina, Alabama, Oklahoma and Massachusetts. It is the traditional main dish for the Thanksgiving holiday, which is held in November in the United States and October in Canada, but of course it is now normally replaced by the domesticated turkey. The Aztecs domesticated the southern Mexican form, M. g. gallopavo'', one of the six subspecies.The range and numbers of this bird had decreased at the beginning of the 20th century due to hunting and loss of habitat, and game officials made efforts to protect and encourage the breeding of the surviving wild population. As the wild turkey's numbers rebounded in the 1980s and 1990s, hunting was legalized in most states.
Game by region
In some countries, game is classified, including legal classification with
respect to licenses required, as either small game or large game. Small game
includeds small animals and birds, such as rabbits, pheasants or ducks. A
single small game license may cover all small game species and be subject
to daily and yearly bag limits. Large game includes animals like deer and
elk and are often subject to individual licensing where a separate license
is required for each individual animal taken. Big game is a term sometimes
used interchangeably with large game although in other contexts it refers
to large, usually African, mammals like elephants which are hunted mainly
for trophies, not for food.
Pheasants
Pheasants are a group of large birds in the order Galliformes. In many countries
they are hunted as game. Pheasant are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism,
with males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as
wattles and long tails. They are usually larger than the females. Males play
no part in rearing the young. There are 35 species of pheasant in 11 different
genera. The most common is the Ringnecked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus torquatus)
which is widespread throughout the world in the wild and in farm operations.
Various other species are popular aviary animals, such as the Golden Pheasant
(Chrysolophus pictus).
Common Pheasant
The Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a gamebird in the pheasant family
Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. The adult pheasant
is 50-90 cm in length with a long tail, often accounting for half the total
length. The male (or cock) has barred bright brown plumage and green, purple
and white markings, often including a white ring around the neck, and the
head is green with distinctive red patches. This bird is also called the Common
or English Pheasant, or just Pheasant. The males are polygamous, mating with
more than one female; they are often accompanied by a harem of several females.
The nominate race P. c. colchicus lacks a white neck ring. This is however
shown by the race Ring-necked Pheasant, P. c. torquatus which after several
failed attempts was successfully introduced to the United States in 1881.
The female (hen) is much less showy, with a duller mottled brown plumage all
over, similar to that of the partridge. The birds are found on wooded land
and scrub. They feed on the ground on grain, leaves and invertebrates, but
roost in trees at night. They nest on the ground, producing a clutch of around
ten eggs over a two-week period in April to June. The incubation period is
about 23 days. The chicks stay near the hen for several weeks after hatching
but grow quickly, resembling adults by only 15 weeks of age. While pheasants
are able short-distance fliers, they prefer to run: but if startled they can
suddenly burst upwards at great speed, with a distinctive "whirring" wing
sound. Their flight speed is only 27 to 38 mph when crusing but when chased
they can fly up to 60 mph. They are native to Asia but have been widely introduced
elsewhere, where they are bred to be hunted and are shot in great numbers.
The doggerel "up flies a guinea, bang goes sixpence and down comes half-a-crown"
reflects that they are often shot for sport rather than as food. If eaten
the meat is somewhat tough and dry, so the carcasses were often hung for a
time to improve the meat by slight decomposition, as with most other game.
Modern cookery generally uses moist roasting or farm-raised female birds.
Pheasant farming is a common practice. Birds are supplied both to hunting
preserves and restaurants, with smaller numbers being available for home cooks.
Pheasant farms have some 10 million birds in the U.S. and 35 million in the
United Kingdom. The bird was brought to Britain around the 10th century but
became extinct in the early 17th century; it was reintroduced in the 1830s
and is now widespread. Repeated reintroduction has made the pheasant a very
variable species in regard to size and plumage. Pheasants have probably been
present in North America from the 18th century but became common in the wild
in the late 1800s. They are most common in the Great Plains, where they are
often seen in hay fields (a preferred nesting site). The term pheasant can
also be used for other gallinaceous birds such as the quail or partridge,
and in North America it is occasionally used to refer to the ruffed grouse.
The Green Pheasant of Japan is very similar to Common Pheasant, but the males
have greenish plumage.
Quail
Coturnix Anurophasis Perdicula Ophrysia
† See also Pheasant, Partridge, Grouse Quail is a collective name for several
genera of mid-sized birds in the Pheasant family Phasianidae. This article
deals with the Old World quail species. The New World quails are not closely
related, but are named for their similar appearance and behaviour. The Old
World buttonquails are also in a different family Turnicidae, and are completely
unrelated to the true quails. The quails are small, plump terrestrial birds.
They are seed eaters, but will also take insects and similar small prey. They
nest on the ground. Wild quail were once a popular game bird.
Bobwhite Quail
The Bobwhite Quail or Northern Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus, is a ground-dwelling
bird native to North America. The name derives from their characteristic call.
The Bobwhite Quail is a member of the group of species known as New World
quail. It is a popular gamebird, particularly in the US Southern States, forming
what are known as "coveys", groups of five to 30 birds, during the non-breeding
season (roughly October-April). Quail primarily inhabit areas of early successional
growth dominated by various species of pine, hardwood, woody, and herbaceous
growth. However, quail habitat varies greatly throughout their range which
extends from Mexico east to Florida and north into the Upper_Midwest and Northeast.
Bobwhites are distinguished by a black cap and black stripe behind the eye
along the head. The area in between is white on males and yellow-brown on
females. The body is brown, speckled in places with black or white on both
sexes, and average weight is five to six ounces (145-200 grams). During the
breeding season, typically beginning in mid-April, bobwhite coveys dissolve.
Social pairs are typically formed between individuals of unknown relationship.
These social pairings potentially result in the formation of a mate bond and
subsequent female fertilization and egg formation. Eggs are laid at a rate
of approximately 1 per day, and they hatch after 23 days. Eggs are normally
white in color with a more pointed end than normal chicken eggs. Both males
and females can incubate nests, with most nests predominantly incubated by
females. If the first clutch of eggs is unsuccessful, a breeding pair (may
be the same pair or a different pair as that which led to the previous nesting
attempt) will attempt to lay, incubate, and hatch additional clutches. If
the clutch is successful, chicks are precocial and will leave the nest approximately
24 hours following hatching. The breeding season continues until mid-October,
and successful nesters (females) can potentially lay, incubate, and hatch
up to 3 clutches. Bobwhites were previously classed with the Old World quails
in the pheasant family Phasianidae, but are not particularly closely related.
They and the other New World quails are now given their own family, Odontophoridae.
The bobwhite's song is a rising, clear whistle, bob-Wight! or bob-bob-White!
The call is most often given by males in spring and summertime.
We are offering acres of prime hunting land in Kansas. Kansas whitetail land. Acres of land have been developed as a natural habitat for whitetail and other game animals.
GENERAL INFORMATION The whitetail deer is one of the best known and easily recognized large mammals and can be found throughout North America. Other members of the deer family found in North America include the elk, moose, caribou, mule deer and blacktail deer.
DESCRIPTION The whitetail deer is a large animal which varies quite a bit in size, depending on the particular subspecies (there are 30 recognized) and the region where it is found. The adult whitetail deer's weight averages from about 100 to 350 pounds. Mature males are generally larger than the females. The whitetail is an ungulate, or hoofed animal, with each foot ending in a cloven or two piece hoof. The under parts of the deer's body are white with a white patch on the throat and another smaller band of white around the nose. The underside of the tail is also white. The upper body parts are colored reddish brown during the warmer months but in the fall, whitetail deer molt into their winter coats of dark, grayish brown. For several months of the year, male whitetail deer, known as bucks, are easily recognized by the presence of antlers on their head, which the females, known as does, lack. Once in a great while female deer (doe) will also have antlers. Deer Antler growth usually begins during the month of March or April, by August or early September, antlers are fully-grown. Deer antlers are among the fastest growing tissues known to man. Growing at an average of 1 to 2 inches per week during development. Growing antlers are covered with a living tissue called velvet. During development, the deer’s antlers are very delicate. This is the time when most antler damage or breakage occurs. Velvet is shed or rubbed off by the buck as he rubs saplings with his antlers. After the breeding season, bucks will shed their antlers. Antlers are usually shed in January or February. Antler shedding usually occurs earlier in northern states than southern states. A new pair of antlers will start growing in the spring.
Quail kansas,goose hunting and phesant as well as wild turkey hunting.
GENERAL INFORMATION The mule deer is a member of the cervid (deer) family. Its coat is reddish in summer and some kind of blue-gray in winter which blends much better with the snow-covered landscape than the reddish color. The mule deer of the Rocky Mountains region have a whitish rump patch. Their creamy-white ears are a quarter again larger than those of the whitetail deer and their tails have a black tip. They grow to a height of up to 3 - 3.5 feet Males weigh between 125 - 400 pounds, females between 100 - 150 pounds When alarmed, both bucks (males) and does (females) snort. The males utter a guttural sound during rutting season and, seldom heard, does and fawns (the young) utter a bleat. Mule deer young (the average is 2, but it can be just 1 or even 3), born between June and July just after the does have reached the summer range, are spotted and able to walk a few minutes after birth. It takes about a month until they are able to run with their mothers. HABITS AND
HABITATS The mule deer is considerably larger than the whitetail, its body is heavier and its legs are stocky and less trim than those of its whitetail counterpart. When something alarms the animal it seems to be changing into a completely different animal: it becomes graceful and alive when, with its head held up high, it starts to run off, making impressing leaps as high as 8 feet. It can reach a speed of up to 35 miles per hour that it can keep up for a few minutes. Although they look less aggressive than elk they are well able to stand their ground when facing predators like coyotes. With their hooves they may badly hurt or even kill such an aggressor. The rutting season begins around October and lasts until about December. The bucks, whose necks swell during the rut, are polygamous and can gather a small harem around them. The males grow symmetrical, branched antlers that are shed between January and February. But rather than using their antlers in actual fights they do more bluffing than for example the whitetail deer. Mule deer are most active during dawn and dusk or in moonlight nights. During the heat of the day they rest and oftentimes you can see beds of matted grass indicating that this is mule deer habitat. They can be spotted alone or in small groups and are more gregarious in winter. While bucks lead a rather solitary life except during mating season, the does form small groups and, in winter, get together in larger groups to spend the time on a winter range, which is the same year after year. The mule deer is a browser and feeds on shrubs and twigs but also on grass and herbs. They prefer coniferous forests, desert shrubs, chaparral, grassland with shrubs as their habitat. In mountainous regions they migrate to higher elevations in spring and come back down in fall. They tend to follow definite trails, especially in winter.
Whitetail
land for sale in Kansas see links above to the left.
All hunters must also purchase the basic license for $73.50 in addition to
the Kansas deer hunting tag. These licenses are for the calendar year rather
than the season meaning the same tag purchased for spring turkey season may
be used for fall whitetail season. Whitetail Units
Nonresident tags are by a draw with preference to those not having drawn the
previous year. Contact the Wildlife and Parks Department (620-672-5911) before
the end of May and have an application mailed or one may be printed from their
website. The application and check ($321.50) must be returned before the end
of May. By late June, early July tags are issued. Residents may purchase tags
over the counter except for the Mulie units that are a draw. All hunters with
or without a draw tag, may purchase up to four antlerless tags (unit dependent)
over the counter. Recent draw success rates have greatly varied over the last
couple of years due to increasing number of non-resident applicants and increasing
number of tags made available by the state. Buddy tags are available for up
to four hunters that, if drawn, will be able to hunt the same unit. Land for
sale in Kansas. To purchase, see links above to the left.