Pheasant

Phasianinae
	Mongolian ringneck-type; common pheasant cock
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae; Horsfield, 1821
Subfamily:	Phasianinae; Horsfield, 1821
Genus
	Argusianus; Catreus; Chrysolophus; Crossoptilon; Ithaginis; Lophura; Phasianus; Polyplectron; Pucrasia; Rheinardia; Syrmaticus

Pheasants (/ˈfɛzənt/) are birds of several genera within the subfamily Phasianinae, of the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Though they can be found world over in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Asia.

Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly decorated with bright colors and adornments such as wattles. Males are usually larger than females and have longer tails. Males play no part in rearing the young.

Pheasants typically eat seeds and some insects.

The best-known is the common pheasant, which is widespread throughout the world, in introduced feral populations and in farm operations. Various other pheasant species are popular in aviaries, such as the golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus).

Etymology[edit]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "pheasant" ultimately comes from Phasis, the ancient name of what is now called the Rioni River in Georgia. 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.^[1]

Species in taxonomic order[edit]

This list is ordered to show presumed relationships between species.

Blood pheasant (genus Ithaginis)
- Blood pheasant (I. cruentus)
Koklass (genus Pucrasia)
- Koklass pheasant (P. macrolopha)
Gallopheasants (genus Lophura)
- Kalij pheasant (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 (L. nycthemera)
- Imperial pheasant (L. imperialis)
- Edward's pheasant (L. edwardsi)
- Vietnamese pheasant (L. hatinhensis)
- Swinhoe's pheasant (L. swinhoii)
- Hoogerwerf's pheasant (L. hoogerwerfi)
- Salvadori's pheasant (L. inornata)
- Crestless fireback (L. erythrophthalma)
  - Malayan crestless fireback (L. e. erythrophthalma)
  - Bornean crestless fireback (L. e. pyronota)
- Crested fireback (L. ignita)
  - Lesser Bornean crested fireback (L. i. ignita)
  - Greater Bornean crested fireback (L. i. nobilis)
  - Vieilott's crested fireback (L. i. rufa)
  - Delacour's crested fireback (L. i. macartneyi)
- Siamese fireback (L. diardi)
- Bulwer's pheasant (L. bulweri)
Eared pheasants (genus Crossoptilon)
- White-eared pheasant (C. crossoptilon)
- Tibetan eared pheasant (C. harmani)
- Brown eared pheasant (C. mantchuricum)
- Blue eared pheasant (C. auritum)
Cheer pheasant (genus Catreus)
- Cheer pheasant (C. wallichi)
Long-tailed pheasants (genus Syrmaticus)
- Reeves's pheasant (S. reevesi)
- Elliot's pheasant (S. ellioti)
- Mrs. Hume's pheasant (S. humiae)
- Mikado pheasant (S. mikado)
- Copper pheasant (S. soemmerringi)
Typical pheasants (genus Phasianus)
- Green pheasant (P. versicolor)
- Common pheasant (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
Ruffed pheasants (genus Chrysolophus)
- Golden pheasant (C. pictus)
- Lady Amherst's pheasant (C. amherstiae)
Peacock-pheasants (genus Polyplectron)
- Bronze-tailed peacock-pheasant (P. chalcurum)
- Mountain peacock-pheasant (P. inopinatum)
- Germain's peacock-pheasant (P. germaini)
- Grey peacock-pheasant (P. bicalcaratum
- Hainan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron katsumatae)
- Malayan peacock-pheasant (P. malacense)
- Bornean peacock-pheasant (P. schleiermacheri)
- Palawan peacock-pheasant (P. emphanum)
Crested argus (genus Rheinartia)
- Crested argus (R. ocellata)
Great argus (genus Argusianus)
- Great argus (A. argus)
- Double-banded argus (Argusianus bipunctatus )

Pheasant fowling, "Showing how to catch pheasants", facsimile of a miniature in the manuscript of the "Livre du Roy Modus" (fourteenth century).

Cheer pheasant pair in Himalaya, India

Previous classifications[edit]

Euplocamus and Gennceus are older names more or less corresponding to the current Lophura.

Euplocamus was used, for example, by Hume and Marshall in their Game Birds of India, Burmah and Ceylon (1879–1881).
Gennceus, was used, for example, by Frank Finn in Indian Sporting Birds (1915) and Game Birds of India and Asia (1911?).

These old genera were used for:

Vernacular	Hume & Marshall	Finn: Sporting Birds	Finn: Game Birds	Contemporary
Vieillot's crested fireback	E. vielloti	Lophura rufa (sic)		L. ignita rufa
Black-backed kalij	E. melanonotus	G. melanonotus		L. leucomelanos melanota
Common or white-crested kalij	E. albocristatus	G. albocristatus		L. leucomelanos hamiltoni
Nepal kalij	E. leucomelanus	G. leucomelanus		L. leucomelanos leucomelanos
Purple, Horsfield's or black-breasted kalij	E. horsfieldi	G. horsfieldi		L. leucomelanos lathami
Lineated kalij	E. lineatus	G. lineatus also: Burmese silver pheasant		L. leucomelanos lineata
Anderson's silver pheasant	?	G. andersoni, considered hybrid of L. nycthemera and L. l. lineata		L. nycthemera andersoni (invalid)
Crawfurd's silver pheasant (or Crawford's? )	E. andersoni	considered a further cross of Anderson's and L. l. lineata		?
Crawfurd's kalij (same as C.'s silver pheasant?)	?		G. andersoni	L. leucomelanos crawfurdi
Cuvier's kalij	?		G. cuvieri	?
Oates's kalij	?		G. oatesi	L. leucomelanos oatesi
Whitehead's silver pheasant	?		G. whiteheadi	?
Swinhoe's kalij	?		G. swinhoii	L. swinhoii

References[edit]

^ "pheasant". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

Bibliography[edit]

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). ISBN 0-486-26579-X and ISBN 0-486-26580-3. Republished as: Pheasants: Their Lives and Homes. 2 vols. 1926. Single volume edition: New York Zoological Society, 1936.)
Green-Armytage, Stephen. 2002. Extraordinary Pheasants.Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York. Book ISBN 0-8109-1007-1.
Madge and McGowan, Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse ISBN 0-7136-3966-0

External links[edit]

Videos of pheasants in the Internet Bird Collection

[1] "pheasant". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[1]

v t e Meat
Main articles: Fish Game Insects Livestock Meat Poultry Seafood
Poultry	Cassowary Chicken Duck Emu Goose Grouse Ostrich Partridge Pheasant Pigeon Quail Rhea Turkey
Livestock	Alpaca Beef Beefalo Bison Buffalo Camel Cat Chevon (goat meat) Dog Elephant Escargot Frog Guinea pig Cuy Horse Lamb and mutton Llama Pork Veal Yak Żubroń
Game	Alligator Bat Bear Boar Crocodile Kangaroo Monkey Pangolin Rat Hare and rabbit Snake Turtle Venison Wolf
Fish	Anchovy Basa Bass Carp Catfish Cod Crappie Eel Flounder Grouper Haddock Halibut Herring Kingfish Mackerel Mahi Mahi Marlin Milkfish Orange roughy Pacific saury Perch Pike Pollock Salmon Sardine Shark Sole Swai Swordfish Tilapia Trout Tuna Walleye
Shellfish and other seafood	Abalone Calamari Clams Crab Crayfish Dolphin Lobster Mussel Octopus Oyster Scallop Seal meat Shrimp/prawn Sea urchin Whale
Insects	Black soldier fly maggots Cicada Crickets Grasshoppers (locust) Mealworm Silkworm Mopane worm Palm grub
Cuts and preparation	Aged Bacon Barbecued Biltong Braised Burger Charcuterie Chop Corned Cured Cutlet Dried Dum Fillet/supreme Fried Ground Ham Kebab Liver Luncheon meat Marinated Meatball Meatloaf Offal Pickled Poached Roasted Salt-cured Salumi Sausage Smoked Steak Stewed Tandoor Tartare
List articles	Beef dishes Chicken dishes Countries by meat consumption Fish dishes Food and drink prohibitions Goat dishes Lamb dishes Meatball dishes Pork dishes Ham dishes Sausage dishes Sausages Seafood dishes Smoked foods Steaks Veal dishes
Related subjects	Animal rights Arachnophagy Bushmeat Butcher Cannibalism Carnism Case-ready meat Christian vegetarianism Cultured meat Entomophagy Ethics of eating meat Factory farming Feed conversion ratio Environmental impact of meat production List of meat dishes Marbled Meat analogue Meat cutter Meat science Meat tenderness Pescetarianism Pink slime Plant-based diet Preservation Psychology of eating meat Meat paradox Red meat Semi-vegetarianism Slaughter Slaughterhouse Veganism Vegetarianism White meat
Food portal Category: Meat