Golden Pheasant

Fascinating facts about the Golden Pheasant

• The adult male golden pheasant reaches about a metre in total length, with its long tail making up roughly two-thirds of that measurement. This tail length, combined with a body weight of 500-700 g, gives the bird a notably hefty build for a gamebird. Its central tail feathers are black with cinnamon spots and the very tip is a cinnamon-buff colour, adding to its striking appearance.
• The first free-roaming golden pheasant in England was recorded in Norfolk in 1845, though observers initially mistook it for a hybrid of common pheasant and red-legged partridge. Over the following decades the bird was deliberately released at several sites across England and Scotland, including Kintyre, Cairnsmore of Fleet, Tortworth, Kent and East Anglia.
• British golden pheasant numbers rose to between 1 000 and 2 000 individuals during the 1980s and 1990s, but then fell sharply as organised releases dwindled and predation by an expanding goshawk population increased. By 1979 the largest stable group was a 250-bird colony in Kirroughtree Forest, with smaller pockets elsewhere such as the Isles of Scilly and Cardrona Forest.
• On Maui the birds occupy elevations from 1,700 to 2,400 m on the island's windward slopes, preferring the forested zones found there. They feed on the ground, taking grain, leaves and invertebrates, and at night they roost up in trees for safety. In winter the flocks move toward the forest edge near human settlements, where they mainly eat wheat leaves and seeds.
• Males can flare an orange ruff like a cape, forming a black-and-orange fan that hides the face except the eyes. The eye remains visible and is bright yellow with a pinpoint black pupil.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Golden Pheasant

In the mist-shrouded mountains of China, the Golden Pheasant reigns as a vision of splendor, its plumage a dazzling tapestry of gold, crimson, and emerald, woven with intricate precision. As it moves through the underbrush, its long, barred tail feathers sway behind it like a banner, while its strong, swift legs propel it with purpose, driven by an innate instinct to claim its territory and assert its dominance. With each strutting step, the Golden Pheasant embodies a mesmerizing blend of elegance and ferocity, a true marvel of evolutionary artistry.

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