Pheasant Fowling Showing how to catch Pheasants Fac simile of a Miniature in the Manuscript of the Livre du Roy Modus Fourteenth Century

Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Phasianidae Phasianidae is a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, grouse, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hu ...

in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Galliformes Galliformes is an order (biology), order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkey (bird), turkeys, chickens, Old World quail, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems ...

. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eurasia. The classification "pheasant" is

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

, as birds referred to as pheasants are included within both the subfamilies

Phasianinae The Phasianinae (Thomas Horsfield, Horsfield, 1821) are a subfamily (biology), subfamily of the pheasant family (Phasianidae) of landfowl, the order (biology), order Galliformes. The subfamily includes true pheasants, tragopans, grouse, Turkey ( ...

and

Pavoninae The Phasianinae ( Horsfield, 1821) are a subfamily of the pheasant family (Phasianidae) of landfowl, the order Galliformes. The subfamily includes true pheasants, tragopans, grouse, turkey and similar birds. Although this subfamily was c ...

, and in many cases are more closely related to smaller phasianids, grouse, and turkey (formerly classified in

Perdicinae Perdicinae is a polyphyletic former subfamily of birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae, regrouping the partridges, Old World quails, and francolins. Although this subfamily was considered monophyletic and separated from the pheasants, tra ...

, Tetraoninae, and Meleagridinae) than to other pheasants. Pheasants are characterised by strong

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

, males being highly decorated with bright

colour Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...

s and adornments such as wattles. Males are usually larger than females and have longer tails. Males play no part in rearing the young. A pheasant's call or cry can be recognised by the fact it sounds like a rusty sink or valve being turned. Pheasants eat mostly seeds, grains, roots, and berries, while in the summer they take advantage of insects, fresh green shoots, spiders, earthworms, and snails. However, as an introduced species, in the UK they are a threat to endangered native adders. The best-known is the

common pheasant The common pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus''), ring-necked pheasant, or blue-headed pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family (biology), family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin ''phasianus'' 'pheasant'. The species name ''colchic ...

, which is widespread throughout the world, in introduced feral populations and in farm operations. Various other pheasant species are popular in

aviaries An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages in ...

, such as the

golden pheasant The golden pheasant (''Chrysolophus pictus''), also known as the Chinese pheasant, and rainbow pheasant, is a gamebird of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous birds) and the family Phasianidae (pheasants). The genus name is from Ancient Greek ' ...

(''Chrysolophus pictus'').

Etymology

According to the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'', the word "pheasant" ultimately comes from Phasis, the ancient name of what is now called the

Rioni River The Rioni ( ka, რიონი ; , ) is the main river of western Georgia. It originates in the Caucasus Mountains, in the region of Racha and flows west to the Black Sea, entering it north of the city of Poti (near ancient Phasis). The city ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. It passed from Greek to Latin to French (spelled with an initial "f") then to English, appearing for the first time in English around 1299.

Species in taxonomic order

This list is ordered to show presumed relationships between species. *Subfamily

**Tribe Ithaginini ***Blood pheasant (genus ''

Ithaginis The blood pheasant (''Ithaginis cruentus'') or blood partridge is a galliforme bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae and the only species in the genus ''Ithaginis''. It is a relatively small, short-tailed pheasant that is widespread in the lo ...

'') ****

Blood pheasant The blood pheasant (''Ithaginis cruentus'') or blood partridge is a galliforme bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae and the only species in the genus ''Ithaginis''. It is a relatively small, short-tailed pheasant that is widespread in the lo ...

(''I. cruentus'') **Tribe Pucrasiini ***Koklass (genus ''

Pucrasia The koklass pheasant (''Pucrasia macrolopha'') is a species of gamebird, being closely related to progenitive grouse that lived during the Miocene. They are distantly related to pheasants and are most closely related to grouse and turkeys. Kok ...

'') ****

Koklass pheasant The koklass pheasant (''Pucrasia macrolopha'') is a species of gamebird, being closely related to progenitive grouse that lived during the Miocene. They are distantly related to pheasants and are most closely related to grouse and turkeys. Kok ...

(''P. macrolopha'') **Tribe

Phasianini Phasianini is a tribe of birds in the subfamily Phasianinae. It contains the true pheasants. Species in this tribe are found throughout Europe and Asia. This grouping was supported by a 2021 phylogenetic analysis of Galliformes, and accepted by t ...

***Long-tailed pheasants (genus ''

Syrmaticus __NOTOC__ The genus ''Syrmaticus'' contains the five species of long-tailed pheasants. The males have short spurs and usually red facial wattles, but otherwise differ wildly in appearance. The hens (females) and chicks of all the species have a ...

'') ****

Reeves's pheasant Reeves's pheasant (''Syrmaticus reevesii'') is a large pheasant within the genus ''Syrmaticus''. It is Endemism, endemic to China. It is named after the British people, British natural history, naturalist John Reeves (naturalist), John Reeves, wh ...

(''S. reevesi'') ****

Elliot's pheasant Elliot's pheasant (''Syrmaticus ellioti'') is a large pheasant native to south-eastern China. Description Males are up to long; they are brown and white with a black throat, chestnut-brown upper parts, white belly, nape and wing bars, red bare fa ...

(''S. ellioti'') ****

Mrs. Hume's pheasant Mrs. Hume's pheasant (''Syrmaticus humiae'') (; literally, ''"one who follows the track of rain"'', Mizo: Vavu), also known as Hume's pheasant or the bar-tailed pheasant, is a large forest pheasant. It is the state bird of the Indian states of M ...

(''S. humiae'') ****

Mikado pheasant The Mikado pheasant (''Syrmaticus mikado'') is a species of gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. Sometimes considered an unofficial ''national bird'' of Taiwan (along with the Swinhoe's phea ...

(''S. mikado'') ****

Copper pheasant The copper pheasant (''Syrmaticus soemmerringii''), also known as Soemmerring's pheasant or , is a pheasant endemic to the Japanese archipelago. The scientific name commemorates the German scientist Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring. It is the officia ...

(''S. soemmerringi'') ***Ruffed pheasants (genus ''

Chrysolophus ''Chrysolophus'' is a genus of the pheasant family of birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''khrusolophos'', "with golden crest". These are species which have spectacularly plumaged males. The golden pheasant is native to western China, ...

'') ****

Golden pheasant The golden pheasant (''Chrysolophus pictus''), also known as the Chinese pheasant, and rainbow pheasant, is a gamebird of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous birds) and the family Phasianidae (pheasants). The genus name is from Ancient Greek ' ...

(''C. pictus'') ****

Lady Amherst's pheasant Lady Amherst's pheasant (''Chrysolophus amherstiae'') is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''khrusolophos'', "with golden crest". The English name and ''amherstiae'' commemorates Sara ...

(''C. amherstiae'') ***Typical pheasants (genus ''

Phasianus The "typical" pheasant genus ''Phasianus'' in the family Phasianidae consists of two species. The genus name is Latin for pheasant. Taxonomy The genus ''Phasianus'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edi ...

'') ****

Green pheasant The green pheasant (''Phasianus versicolor''), also known as the Japanese green pheasant, is an omnivorous bird native to the Japanese archipelago, to which it is endemic. Some taxonomic authorities consider it a subspecies of the common pheas ...

(''P. versicolor'') ****

Common pheasant The common pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus''), ring-necked pheasant, or blue-headed pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family (biology), family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin ''phasianus'' 'pheasant'. The species name ''colchic ...

(''P. colchicus'') ***** Caucasus pheasants, ''Phasianus colchicus colchicus'' group ***** White-winged pheasants, ''Phasianus colchicus chrysomelas/principalis'' group ****** Prince of Wales pheasant, ''Phasianus colchicus principalis'' ***** Mongolian ring-necked pheasants or white-winged ring-necked pheasants, ''Phasianus colchicus mongolicus'' group ***** Tarim pheasants, ''Phasianus colchicus tarimensis'' group ***** Chinese ring-necked pheasants, ''Phasianus colchicus torquatus'' group ****** Taiwan pheasant, ''Phasianus colchicus formosanus'' **Cheer pheasant (genus ''

Catreus In Greek mythology, Catreus or Katreus (, ; ) was the eldest son of Minos and Pasiphaë, and Minos' successor as king of Crete. Catreus had one son, Althaemenes, and three daughters, Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. Catreus was mistakenly kill ...

'') ***

Cheer pheasant The cheer pheasant (''Catreus wallichii''), also known as Wallich's pheasant or chir pheasant, is a vulnerable species of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the only member in the genus ''Catreus''. The scientific name commemorates Danish ...

(''C. wallichi'') **Gallopheasants (genus '' Lophura'') ***

Kalij pheasant The kalij pheasant (''Lophura leucomelanos''), or simply kalij, is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Nepal, Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies ...

(''L. leucomelanos'') ****White-crested kalij pheasant (''L. l. hamiltoni'') ****Nepal kalij pheasant (''L. l. leucomelanos'') ****Black-backed kalij pheasant (''L. l. melanota'') ****Black kalij pheasant (''L. l. moffitti'') ****Black-breasted kalij pheasant (''L. l. lathami'') ****William's kalij pheasant (''L. l. williamsi'') ****Oates' kalij pheasant (''L. l. oatesi'') ****Crawfurd's kalij pheasant (''L. l. crawfurdi'') ****Lineated kalij pheasant (''L. l. lineata'') ***

Silver pheasant The silver pheasant (''Lophura nycthemera'') is a species of pheasant found in forests, mainly in mountains, of mainland Southeast Asia and eastern and southern China. It is introduced on Victoria Island in Nahuel Huapi Lake, Neuquén, Argenti ...

(''L. nycthemera'') *** Imperial pheasant (''L. imperialis'') ***

Edwards's pheasant Edwards's pheasant (''Lophura edwardsi'') is a bird of the pheasant family Phasianidae and is endemic to the seasonal tropical forests of central Vietnam. It is named after the French ornithologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards and first described to s ...

(''L. edwardsi'') *** Vietnamese pheasant (''L. hatinhensis'') *** Swinhoe's pheasant (''L. swinhoii'') *** Salvadori's pheasant (''L. inornata'') ****

Hoogerwerf's pheasant Hoogerwerf's pheasant (''Lophura inornata hoogerwerfi''), also known as the Aceh pheasant or Sumatran pheasant is a medium-sized, up to long, bird of the family Phasianidae. The name commemorates the Dutch ornithologist and taxidermist Andries ...

(''L. i. hoogerwerfi)'' *** Malayan crestless fireback (''L. erythrophthalma'') *** Bornean crestless fireback (''L. pyronota'') ***

Bornean crested fireback The Bornean crested fireback (''Lophura ignita'') is a medium-sized forest pheasant from Borneo and the Bangka Belitung Islands. It is the type species of the genus '' Lophura''. Prior to 2023, it was referred to as simply the crested fireback as ...

(''L. ignita'') ****Lesser Bornean crested fireback (''L. i. ignita'') ****Greater Bornean crested fireback (''L. i. nobilis'') ***

Malayan crested fireback The Malayan crested fireback or Malay crested fireback (''Lophura rufa'') is a species of forest pheasant found in lowland forests of the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Taxonomy This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the Borne ...

(''L. rufa'') ***

Siamese fireback The Siamese fireback (''Lophura diardi''), also known as Diard's fireback, is a fairly large, approximately long, pheasant. The male has a grey plumage with an extensive facial caruncle, crimson legs and feet, ornamental black crest feathers, re ...

(''L. diardi'') *** Bulwer's pheasant (''L. bulweri'') **Eared pheasants (genus ''

Crossoptilon Eared pheasants are pheasants from the genus ''Crossoptilon'' in the family Phasianidae. Species Established by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1838, the genus contains four species: The name ''Crossoptilon'' is a combination of the Greek language, ...

'') ***

White eared pheasant The white eared pheasant (''Crossoptilon crossoptilon''), also known as Dolan’s eared pheasant or Bee's pheasant, is a species of " eared pheasant" that get its name because its colouration is white and has the prominent ear tufts of the genu ...

(''C. crossoptilon'') ***

Tibetan eared pheasant The Tibetan eared pheasant (''Crossoptilon harmani''), also called Elwes' eared pheasant, is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae found in southeast Tibet and adjacent northern India, usually between elevation, but has been seen down to ...

(''C. harmani'') *** Brown eared pheasant (''C. mantchuricum'') ***

Blue eared pheasant The blue eared pheasant (''Crossoptilon auritum'') is a large pheasant endemic to China. Although it is considered rare, the blue eared pheasant is evaluated as of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Description The blue ...

(''C. auritum'') *Subfamily

**Tribe

Pavonini Pavonini is a tribe (biology), tribe of bird in the subfamily Phasianinae. Members of this family are primarily found in tropical Asia, along with one species in the Congolian rainforests, Congo Rainforest in Africa. It contains two of the most c ...

***Crested argus (genus ''

Rheinardia The Crested argus is a species of large peafowl-like bird in the genus ''Rheinardia'' of the pheasant family. Taxonomy Although traditionally treated as a single species with two subspecies, it has long been suspected that a species pair is invo ...

'') ****

Vietnamese crested argus The Vietnamese crested argus (''Rheinardia ocellata'') is a large and spectacular peafowl-like species of bird in the pheasant family with dark-brown-spotted black and buff plumage, a heavy pink bill, brown irises and blue skin around the eyes. ...

(''R. ocellata'') ****

Malayan crested argus The Malayan crested argus (''Rheinardia nigrescens'') is a large and spectacular peafowl-like species of bird in the pheasant family with dark-brown-spotted black and buff plumage, a heavy pink bill, brown irises and blue skin around the eyes. T ...

(''R. nigrescens'') ***Great argus (genus ''

Argusianus The great argus (''Argusianus argus''), or greater argus, is a large species of pheasant from Southeast Asia. It is known for its impressive plumage and courtship behavior. It is not to be confused with the two species of closely related crested ...

'') ****

Great argus The great argus (''Argusianus argus''), or greater argus, is a large species of pheasant from Southeast Asia. It is known for its impressive plumage and courtship behavior. It is not to be confused with the two species of closely related creste ...

(''A. argus'') **Tribe Polyprectronini ***Peacock-pheasants (genus ''

Polyplectron The peacock-pheasants are a bird genus, ''Polyplectron'', of the family Phasianidae, consisting of eight species. They are colored inconspicuously, relying heavily on crypsis to avoid detection. When threatened, peacock-pheasants will alter thei ...

'') **** Bronze-tailed peacock-pheasant (''P. chalcurum'') **** Mountain peacock-pheasant (''P. inopinatum'') **** Germain's peacock-pheasant (''P. germaini'') ****

Grey peacock-pheasant The grey peacock-pheasant (''Polyplectron bicalcaratum''), also known as Burmese peacock-pheasant, is a large Asian member of the order Galliformes. Taxonomy In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a descript ...

(''P. bicalcaratum'' **** Hainan peacock-pheasant (''Polyplectron katsumatae'') ****

Malayan peacock-pheasant The Malayan peacock-pheasant (''Polyplectron malacense'') also known as crested peacock-pheasant or Malaysian peacock-pheasant, is a medium-sized pheasant of the galliform family (biology), family Phasianidae. The closely related Bornean peacock- ...

(''P. malacense'') **** Bornean peacock-pheasant (''P. schleiermacheri'') ****

Palawan peacock-pheasant The Palawan peacock-pheasant (''Polyplectron napoleonis'') is a medium-sized (up to 50cm long) bird in the family Phasianidae endemic to the island of Palawan in the Philippines. The spectacular male has a black body with blue marks on the wings ...

(''P. emphanum'')

Previous classifications

''Euplocamus'' and ''Gennceus'' are older names more or less corresponding to the current ''Lophura''. * ''Euplocamus'' was used, for example, by Hume and

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

in their '' Game Birds of India, Burmah and Ceylon'' (1879–1881). * ''Gennceus'', was used, for example, by

Frank Finn Frank Finn FZS, MBOU (1868 – 1 October 1932) was an English ornithologist. Finn was born in Maidstone and educated at Maidstone Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford. He went on a collecting expedition to East Africa in 1892, and ...

in
Indian Sporting Birds
' (1915) an
Game Birds of India and Asia
(1911?). These old genera were used for:

References

Bibliography

* Beebe, William. 1918-22. ''A Monograph of the Pheasants.'' 1st edition in 4 volumes: H. F. Witherby, London. Reprint: 1990, Dover Publications.(4 volumes bound as 2). and . Republished as: ''Pheasants: Their Lives and Homes''. 2 vols. 1926. Single volume edition:

New York Zoological Society New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, 1936.) * Green-Armytage, Stephen. 2002. ''Extraordinary Pheasants.''

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher Média-Participations. Run by president and CEO Mary ...

, New York. Book . * Madge and McGowan, ''Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse''

External links

Videos of pheasants
in the Internet Bird Collection {{Phasianidae, state=expanded Phasianidae Bird common names