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Field Guide / Game Birds

Game Bird Field Guide

Illustrated profiles of North American game birds. Search by name or food, or filter by type, movement, and habitat.

Type
Movement
Habitat

4 species

Colored-pencil illustration of a Canada goose with a black head and long black neck, a white chinstrap, a brown-gray back, a tan breast, and a white rump patch above a black tailGeese

Canada Goose

Branta canadensis

A large, adaptable goose with a black neck and head and a white chinstrap. Some populations migrate long distances, while others live in the same area all year.

Typical size: 30–43 in long; about 6–14 lb depending on subspecies

Colored-pencil illustration of a male mallard with a green head, white neck ring, chestnut breast, gray body, curled black tail feathers, and a yellow billDucks

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

The most widespread and most hunted duck in North America. Drakes are easy to recognize by their glossy green heads, and hens by their mottled brown plumage and orange bills.

Typical size: 20–26 in long; about 2–3 lb

Colored-pencil illustration of a male ring-necked pheasant with a green head, red face wattle, white neck ring, copper-bronze body, and a long barred tailUpland Birds

Ring-necked Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

A colorful, long-tailed upland bird from Asia that became a favorite of Midwestern and Great Plains hunters. Roosters have a green head and a white neck ring.

Typical size: Roosters 30–36 in long including the tail and about 2–3 lb; hens are smaller

Colored-pencil illustration of a male wild turkey with a bare blue and red head, red wattles, dark bronze feathers, a fanned tail, a thin black beard hanging from the chest, and long pink legsTurkey

Wild Turkey

Meleagris gallopavo

North America's largest upland game bird. Toms have a bare red and blue head, a dark bronze body, and a beard of bristles hanging from the chest.

Typical size: Toms about 16–24 lb; hens about 8–12 lb