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Pheasant

{{Short description|Bird in family Phasianidae}}

{{About|the animal|other uses}}

{{distinguish|Peasant}}

{{More citations needed|date=August 2020}}

{{Paraphyletic group

| auto = yes

| image = Pheasant.jpg

| image_caption = Mongolian ringneck-type
common pheasant Male

| parent = Phasianidae

| includes = *Argusianus

| excludes = *Rollulinae

}}

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

File:Catreus wallichii.jpg

Pheasants ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ɛ|z|ə|n|t|s}} {{respell|FEH|zənts}}) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. 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, as birds referred to as pheasants are included within both the subfamilies Phasianinae and Pavoninae, and in many cases are more closely related to smaller phasianids, grouse, and turkey (formerly classified in Perdicinae, Tetraoninae, and Meleagridinae) than to other pheasants.{{Cite journal|date=2021-05-01|title=A phylogenomic supermatrix of Galliformes (Landfowl) reveals biased branch lengths|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790321000245|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|language=en|volume=158|pages=107091|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107091|issn=1055-7903|last1=Kimball|first1=Rebecca T.|last2=Hosner|first2=Peter A.|last3=Braun|first3=Edward L.|pmid=33545275|bibcode=2021MolPE.15807091K |s2cid=231963063|url-access=subscription}}

Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly decorated with bright colours 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/01/adder-extinct-across-britain-snake-threat-game-birds-release|title=Game birds 'could wipe out adders in most of Britain within 12 years'|work=Guardian newspapers|author=Nicolas Milton|date=1 Oct 2020}}{{Dubious|date=March 2023}}

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

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.{{Cite OED | pheasant }}

Species in taxonomic order

This list is ordered to show presumed relationships between species.

  • Imperial pheasant (L. imperialis)
  • Edwards's pheasant (L. edwardsi)
  • Vietnamese pheasant (L. hatinhensis)
  • Swinhoe's pheasant (L. swinhoii)
  • Salvadori's pheasant (L. inornata)
  • Hoogerwerf's pheasant (L. i. hoogerwerfi)
  • Malayan crestless fireback (L. erythrophthalma)
  • Bornean crestless fireback (L. pyronota)
  • Bornean crested fireback (L. ignita)
  • Lesser Bornean crested fireback (L. i. ignita)
  • Greater Bornean crested fireback (L. i. nobilis)
  • Malayan crested fireback (L. rufa)
  • 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)
  • Subfamily Pavoninae
  • Tribe Pavonini
  • Crested argus (genus Rheinardia)
  • Vietnamese crested argus (R. ocellata)
  • Malayan crested argus (R. nigrescens)
  • Great argus (genus Argusianus)
  • Great argus (A. argus)
  • Tribe Polyprectronini
  • 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)

    • =Previous classifications{{Anchor|Euplocamus}}=

    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 [https://archive.org/stream/indiansportingbi00finn/indiansportingbi00finn_djvu.txt Indian Sporting Birds] (1915) and [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924016412631/cu31924016412631_djvu.txt Game Birds of India and Asia] (1911?).

    These old genera were used for:

    class="wikitable"
    Vernacular

    ! Hume & Marshall

    ! Finn: Sporting Birds

    ! Finn: Game Birds

    ! Contemporary

    Vieillot's crested firebackE. viellotiLophura rufa (sic)L. ignita rufa
    Black-backed kalijE. melanonotusG. melanonotusL. leucomelanos melanota
    Common or white-crested kalijE. albocristatusG. albocristatusL. leucomelanos hamiltoni
    Nepal kalijE. leucomelanusG. leucomelanusL. leucomelanos leucomelanos
    Purple, Horsfield's or black-breasted kalijE. horsfieldiG. horsfieldiL. leucomelanos lathami
    Lineated kalijE. lineatusG. lineatus also: Burmese silver pheasantL. leucomelanos lineata
    Anderson's silver pheasant?G. andersoni, considered hybrid of L. nycthemera and L. l. lineataL. nycthemera andersoni (invalid)
    Crawfurd's silver pheasant (or Crawford's? )E. andersoniconsidered a further cross of Anderson's and L. l. lineata?
    Crawfurd's kalij (same as C.'s silver pheasant?)?G. andersoniL. leucomelanos crawfurdi
    Cuvier's kalij?G. cuvieri?
    Oates's kalij?G. oatesiL. leucomelanos oatesi
    Whitehead's silver pheasant?G. whiteheadi?
    Swinhoe's kalij?G. swinhoiiL. swinhoii

    References

    {{Reflist}}

    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). {{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

    • [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/pheasants-partridges-phasianidae Videos of pheasants] in the Internet Bird Collection

    {{Phasianidae|state=expanded}}

    Category:Phasianidae

    Category:Bird common names