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always for the community VOL 25 NO 1
January 2020
www.valleysentinel.com
SPOTLIGHT
Happy New Year
from the Valley Sentinel! Bob Ladouceur, 2019 Pete Villa Award winner Colin Moroney, Pete Villa.
Colin Moroney from San Ramon Valley High School Wins the 2019 Pete Villa Award The Rotary Club of Danville held its 23rd annual Pete Villa awards luncheon on Monday, December 9th. The winner of this prestigious award was Colin Moroney
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2020 brings with it the start of a new decade and the opportunity to become involved in the good works that are performed every day in the valley. Volunteers make this community the best place to live, work and play. Wishing for peace and prosperity in the lives of all of our readers, and for the community at large.
Beauty in Nature–The Ring-necked Pheasant By James M. Hale
The Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicum), or Common Pheasant, is a nonnative, gallinaceous, game bird that was first introduced in North America in 1773, and throughout California in the 1880’s. The genus Phasianus is Latin for pheasant. The specific epithet, colchicus, is Latin for “of Colchis”, modern day Georgia, a country on the Black Sea where pheasants became known to Europeans. Ringnecked Pheasants are native to Asia and the foothills of Caucasus and the Balkans. The species was first scientifically described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758. About thirty subspecies are recognized. They are the most ancient, most widespread, and most hunted game birds in the world. They are bred commercially on game farms for worldwide introduction. The Ring-necked Pheasant is the state bird of South Dakota, one
of only three state birds that is not native to the United States. The Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) of Japan is considered a subspecies of the Common Pheasant by some experts. Although the two pheasant species have different ecological requirements, the Green Pheasant will outcompete the Common Pheasant, at least in its typical habitat. Pheasants are indicators of ecosystem health in the grassland and agricultural landscapes. They were once fairly common in the grasslands, agricultural areas, and marshes of eastern Contra Costa County. I have seen them in the grasslands of Diablo and San Ramon Valleys, and once flushed one from Las Trampas Creek in downtown Walnut Creek. Their numbers have recently declined dramatically. T h e R i n g - n e c ke d o r
Common Pheasant has many color forms, ranging from polychromatic, to nearly white, and almost black. Hybridization and genetic mutations have led to a wide variety of colored races. The nominate subspecies, or wild form of the Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus colchicus), is up to thirty-six inches in length, with a brown, streaked black tail accounting for up to twenty inches of the total length. The body plumage is bright gold or chestnut brown with barring or streaking, and an Iridescent green or purple sheen. Wings are mottled brown or cream with white. A distinctive red wattle and small crest accent the iridescent, bright blue-green head of males. Two ear tufts enhance auditory reception. A diagnostic white neck band in the males give the Ring-necked Pheasant its name.
This Month’s Special Section
New Year, New You! pages 8-9
Female birds have brown heads and lack the neck band. Ring-necked Pheasants are gregarious birds that form loose knit flocks outside the breeding season. Non-breeding birds roost in protective tree cover at night. Male pheasants have a harem of several females. They are ground-nesting birds that lay their eggs in a grass or leaf-lined scrape, usually under dense cover. A clutch of eight to eighteen pale olive See PHEASANT page 5