National prominence
Green Pheasant
Green pheasant in Hawaii is likely a color variant within the state's interbred ring-necked pheasant population rather than a distinct target, historically favoring moister, higher-elevation forest on Hawaii Island's slopes. It's hunted the same way as ring-necked pheasant.
How to hunt Green Pheasant
Hunted across the same DLNR-managed public units and private land as Hawaii's general ring-necked pheasant population, not accessed separately. Historically, pure Green Pheasant and Green-Ring-neck intergrades favored moister, higher-elevation forest, including the slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawai'i Island, Koke'e on Kaua'i, upper Makawao on Maui, Halawa Valley on Moloka'i, and the Wai'anae Mountains on O'ahu, distinct from the open scrub, pasture, and grassland that describes Hawaii's ring-necked pheasant generally. The pure form may already be extirpated in Hawaii; the most recent confirmed sighting was in 2010 near Volcano on Hawai'i Island, and most birds encountered under this name today are likely ordinary ring-necked pheasant carrying residual green-pheasant plumage.
No Green-Pheasant- or Hawaii-specific range figure exists. Treat this the same as ring-necked pheasant elsewhere in this dataset: 20 to 50 yards, stretching as the season goes on.
Cocks-only, the same as ring-necked pheasant: identify by tail length, coloring, a crow or cackle on flush, and leg spurs, and hold your shot when unsure. On O'ahu's public units this bird turns up in the same mixed bag as the three francolins, chukar, barred dove, spotted dove, peafowl, and other pheasant varieties.
What changes through the season
- Named as a distinct game bird in Hawaii's regulations, but with no independent gear identity
Green Pheasant carries its own named listing in Hawaii's game-bird rules, but every island bag-limit exhibit that includes it pools it fully with Ring-necked Pheasant, and current wildlife-agency material has dropped 'Green Pheasant' as an operational label entirely. Treat it as gear-identical to ring-necked pheasant rather than a separate hunting target.
What to load for this hunt
Lead
- Gauge
- 12 gauge, 20 gauge, 16 gauge
- Shot size
- #7.5, #6, #5, #4Agency
- Treated as gear-identical to ring-necked pheasant rather than researched separately: Hawaii's own regulations pool Green Pheasant and Ring-necked Pheasant into a single bag limit on every island where Green Pheasant is listed at all, and it's now generally considered a color form of the same species rather than a distinct one. #7.5-6 shot and Improved Cylinder early, moving to #5-4 and Modified-to-Full as range stretches out; 12, 20, or 16 gauge.
- Choke
- Improved Cylinder, Modified, Full
Non-toxic
| Steel | Bismuth | Tungsten-matrix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shot size | #3, #2Tested Same as ring-necked pheasant's own steel figures: #3-2, Improved Cylinder opening to Modified as range increases, with #2 the best all-around choice. | #3Tested Same as ring-necked pheasant: #3, capped at Modified. | #6, #5, #4Tested Same as ring-necked pheasant: #6-4, with #4 the best all-around performer; Improved Cylinder to Modified. |
| Choke | Improved Cylinder, Modified | Improved Cylinder, Modified | Improved Cylinder, Modified |
Where it is open, and what the survey says
- HawaiiNo season foundAwaiting survey — Hawaii 2026
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