Dear Birding-Aussers,
The issue of feral populations of introduced birds is one that intrigues
me.
A non-birding friend has recently drawn my attention to a (low density)
population of pheasants in northern NSW and south/central Qld. Apparently,
they have been there for many years (at least 30 years). From the
fieldguides, we have tentatively identified them as Ring-necked Pheasants.
I have been looking up my references to establish any information on
pheasants in this area but have drawn a blank on regular sightings made in
recent history. What is known of the population?
More broadly, there seems to be a number of feral populations of various
intoduced species that have been established for lengthy periods of time
that are poorly documented in the literature or absent from it. For
example, there is a small population of Peafowl on Kangaroo Island that has
been there for a long time as has a small population of Barbary Doves near
Redcliffe in Brisbane.
Is there anyone monitoring these populations? If HANZAB isn't dealing with
them (and it has nothing to say on the above Ring-necks), then presumably
they remain undocumented and maybe unrecognised.
Chris
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