Game bird in the context of "Old World quail"

Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term "cock of the game" used by George Wilson, in the earliest known book on the sport of cockfighting in The Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting in 1607. But it was during Ferdinand Magellan's voyage of discovery of the Philippines in 1521 when modern cockfighting was first witnessed and documented for Westerners by the Italian Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's chronicler, in the Kingdom of Taytay.

The gamecocks (not to be confused with game birds) are specially bred and conditioned for increased stamina and strength. Male and female chickens of such a breed are referred to as gamefowl. Cocks are also bred to be aggressive towards other males of their species. Wagers are often made on the outcome of the match, held in a ring called a cockpit.

The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), ring-necked pheasant, or blue-headed pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin phasianus 'pheasant'. The species name colchicus is Latin for 'of Colchis' (modern day Georgia), a country on the Black Sea where pheasants became known to Europeans. Although Phasianus was previously thought to be closely related to the genus Gallus, the genus of junglefowl and domesticated chickens, recent studies show that they are in different subfamilies, having diverged over 20 million years ago.

It is native to Asia, where it is widespread, and also the extreme southeast of Europe in the northern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. It has been widely introduced elsewhere as a game bird. In parts of its range, mainly in places where none of its relatives occur such as in Europe, where it is naturalised, it is simply known as the "pheasant". Ring-necked pheasant is both the collective name for a number of subspecies and their intergrades that have white neck rings, and the name used for the species as a whole in North America.

Forcemeat (derived from the French farcir, "to stuff") is a uniform mixture of lean meat with fat made by grinding or sieving the ingredients. The result may either be smooth or coarse. Forcemeats are used in the production of numerous items found in charcuterie, including quenelles, sausages, pâtés, terrines, roulades, and galantines. Forcemeats are usually produced from raw meat, except in the case of a gratin. Meats commonly used include pork, fish (pike, trout, or salmon), seafood, game meats (venison, boar, or rabbit), poultry, game birds, veal, and pork livers. Pork fatback is preferred as a fat, as it has a somewhat neutral flavor.