Golden Pheasant
Also known as the Chinese Pheasant, the Golden Pheasant is a game bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. The bird is native to China’s mountainous areas but some populations have established in England and in other places. The bird was first brought to the European continent in the 18 th century; the first American known to keep and raise a pheasant was the famous George Washington. Along with the Lady Amherst Pheasant they make the group of pheasants called the Ruffed Pheasants. In captivity, the Golden Pheasant is also known as the Red Golden Pheasant and the male pheasants are one of the most brilliantly colored birds.
The adult Golden Pheasant measures between 90 and 105 cm in length and the tail is 2/3 of the bird’s total length. It can’t be confused with other birds thanks to its golden crest and rump along with the bright red colored body. The bird’s deep orange cape can be spread in display, showing an alternating black & orange fan which covers all of the bird’s face except the bright yellow eye with a pin point black pupil. Both male and female Golden Pheasants have yellow legs and bill.
The male Golden Pheasant has a golden-yellow chest with small red markings at the tip. The throat, chin, sides of the neck and the face are rusty tan while the orbital skin and wattles are yellow. The bird’s upper back is green colored while the rest of the back is golden-yellow just like the rump. The scapulars are dark red colored and the tertiaries are blue. The central tail feathers are black spotted along with cinnamon just like the tail’s tip. Both the central tail feathers and the upper tail coverts have the same color.
The female Golden Pheasant is somewhat similar to the Ringneck Pheasant ( Common Pheasant ), a little bit darker and slender in comparison with the Ringneck and also with a larger tail, measuring between 60 and 80 cm in length. The female Golden Pheasant has barred buff and blackish brown breast and sides while the abdomen is plain buff, just like the throat and face.
Although these birds have a showy appearance ( especially the males ), they are very difficult to detect in their natural habitat which is dense, dark-colored conifer forests along with sparse undergrowth. As far as their nutrition is concerned, they feed on the ground ( grain, leaves, berries, seeds, grubs and invertebrates ) but during the night they roost in trees. Although just like the Common Pheasant they have the ability to fly for short distances, they prefer running.
Moving on to the breeding aspect, they lay between 8 and 12 eggs and the incubating period lasts between 22 and 23 days. These birds rarely breed in captivity. During the breeding season, the male Golden Pheasant has a metallic call. There are several known mutations of the Golden Pheasant such as the Dark-throated, Cinnamon, Salmon, Snowflake or Yellow ( Ghigi golden ).
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