Date: 6/7/26 7:35 am From: Jamie Chavez via groups.io <almiyi...> Subject: Re: [sbcobirding] Ring-necked Pheasant and eBird
Wim is asking why in eBird the discrepancy between the asterisk icons that display; those little circular badges that are assigned for Naturalized, Provisional, or Escapee.
Yes, I think this is a mistake. The correct icon should be displaying for our area automatically. eBird updated their introduced birds review (and display) process in 2022 and this is when these little icons were formally applied. Birds reported after the 2022 update are supposed to show the correct icon, while older reports may not. I tested this by reviewing one of the records at LLC and marked it escapee using what eBird calls "Exotic Mode" in the review tool, and it now shows the correct icon. I think each historical record would need to be re-reviewed and marked correctly. It's a good thing there aren't a ton of pheasant records in eBird. While RN Pheasant is listed on the CBRC State Bird list as an Introduced species (similar to starling or collared-dove), this would only apply to areas where they breed such as northern Central Valley, but this is not the case in our area. Every pheasant seen around here would be an escapee. Part of the issue pre-2022 update is that eBird wanted birders to record sightings of exotics so they could collect the information, but birders clamored for a fix because these were actually counting toward life list totals which was an issue before records were accepted by state records committees in areas where self-sustaining populations included them on state lists. Some birders don't want to count them at all on their lists, and this was unavoidable in eBird before the policy update in 2022 and going forward these are supposed to be assigned appropriately.
Jamie M. Chavez Santa Maria, CA
On Saturday, June 6th, 2026 at 8:35 PM, Cruz Phillips via groups.io <cruzitas...> wrote:
> We had a male calling pheasant for about 3 months at Las Cruzitas in 2022 > >> On Jun 6, 2026, at 8:30 PM, Miguel Christie via groups.io <christiemiguel...> wrote: > >> >> Hi Wim, all >> About the Ring-necked Pheasant issue, I agree with Wim. If it were "naturalized" in the Co, such a large conspicuous sedentary species should have many regular sightings, especially in places such as LLC, which must be one of the most heavily birded spots on the planet. >> Besides, years ago I picked up a road-killed bird on Bull Canyon Road (east of Santa Maria, actually SLO Co, but very close to the co line), and days later saw a live male in the same area (and then, never again). >> Photos show the typical frayed feathers of a caged bird, so it was either escaped or released, which is the most likely explanation for all the other random records in the co. >> I would not include the species until someone actually documents a local breeding event. >> Best, Miguel >> >> see < https://ebird.org/checklist/S59016445 > >> Roadkill record upload to CROS 58393 : 2017.04.11; mic#2373; Ring-neck Pheasant; 00; 34.995253, -120.381850; Bull Cyn Rd; ~0.2 mi S of Hwy 166; SLO Co.; Weedy slope/ creek.; Adult; Fresh plump 'intact'. >> (California Roadkill Observation System. The actual specimen went to the SBMNH). >> >> On Sat, Jun 6, 2026 at 3:40 PM Wim van Dam via groups.io <wim.van.dam...> wrote: >> >>> On eBird, Ring-necked Pheasant is listed as one of the 514 species of our county ("Naturalized"): >>> https://ebird.org/region/US-CA-083/bird-list >>> >>> Is this a mistake? While it is true that California has established populations, I don't think that the ones that we have should be considered part of these populations. This recent checklist (https://ebird.org/checklist/S324483530) has the bird labelled as "Escapee", but the earlier checklists of Lake Los Carneros Park (2012 and 2013), Cachuma Lake (2015), Saint Francis Ranch (2022) have it as "Naturalized". I'm surprised by these different labels. >>> >>> Yes, I went down this rabbit hole while thinking about our Swinhoe's White-eye, which likely are part of the established California population. >>> >>> Wim >>> -- >>> >>> Wim van Dam (Solvang, CA) >>> SBCO #409: Common Grackle* >> >> -- >> >> Miguel Christie >> Lompoc > >
