The Wiley Ring Necked Georgia Red Clay Burrowing Pheasant

I was on the phone with the Gwinnett County Extension Office today to talk to them about how to get my stupid dog, Scooby, to stop digging. It was a good thing that I called. The recent snow we received last month and the cold and warm weather mix has enabled a specific species to transplant itself into Gwinnett County and several other surrounding counties. It is the Ring Necked - Georgia - Red Clay - Burrowing - Pheasant. Most pheasants cannot survive the climate in Georgia because of the heat and humidity but with our most recent climate pattern, the Burrowing Pheasant is making a comeback. Once thought to be extinct, the burrowing pheasant loves the roots of Bermuda grass. It apparently lives off the roots of the bermuda grass and it can handle the heat of the south because it burrows. This wiley and strange pheasant is rarely seen. When seen, they are most commonly found in the fields, and yards, of Vizsla owners in the city. The large amount of street surface keeps the soil at the perfect temperature for this bird. Since we all know that Vizsla's are the finest of all pheasant dogs, it is natural to believe that their keen sense of smell would help them locate this very rare pheasant. Other breeds of bird dog just don't have the keen instincts of the Vizsla. We were able to get a few glimpses of this bird over the past few days and I have put them below. All of this time, I thought that Scooby was just digging to pass the time or just to piss me off. I never expected that he was digging because he was following a natural instinct to try to locate the wiley and rare, Ring Necked - Georgia - Red Clay - Burrowing - Pheasant. As you can see, they blend into an Urban environment quite well.

Scooby located many of the burrows.

This is surely another example to trust your bird dog!

Lenny Peters

Director of K9 Training

USOPHT - Georgia Training Center