Lemonly Timeline: How Did Pheasants Become South Dakota's State Bird?

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How did a bird from the other side of the world become so woven into our home state’s identity? Our illustrated timeline digs into the history of how the Chinese ring-necked pheasant arrived in South Dakota and eventually became the state's official bird.

Starting with pheasants' first North American appearance in the 1730s, it's a story with a bit of local drama between two groups of Spink County farmers each trying to establish a local pheasant population. Turns out Midwestern winters were hard for even these hardy birds to weather. After that, the first hunting season in 1919 (one day, one county) and a State Fair exhibition helped the bird's popularity take flight. It all came home to roost in 1943, when the state legislature designated the ring-necked pheasant South Dakota's official bird — hardy, delicious, and good for the state's bottom line.

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Sources: Audubon, South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, SDPB, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota News Watch

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How did pheasants become South Dakota’s state bird?

1730s: Pheasants make their first North American appearance in New York and New Hampshire, but don’t survive.
1881–82: Owen Denny (U.S. consul general in Shanghai) ships pheasants from China to the Pacific Northwest. Most of the first batch dies in transit, but the second takes hold in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
1908: Two groups of South Dakota farmers try pheasants: Near Doland, birds from Pennsylvania die in heavy snow. Near Redfield, three pairs from Oregon take hold; the town later dubs itself the “Pheasant Capital of the World.”
1911: The state steps in, releasing 48 pairs near Redfield and issuing 200 pairs to farmers statewide.
1913: About 1,700 pheasants go on display at the State Fair in Huron, so locals can get up close and personal.
1919: First open season: one day in Spink County.
1943: Rep. Paul Kretschmar of Eureka pitches the pheasant to the legislature: a hardy, delicious bird that’s good for the state’s bottom line. The ring-necked pheasant becomes the state bird.
2018: The last state-reported population estimate: 7.1 million birds.

Sources: Audubon, South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, SDPB, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota News Watch

Scroll through the timeline to see how pheasants found their way to South Dakota.