copper pheasant

File:BirdsAsiaJohnGoVIIGoul 0160.jpg Birds of Asia]]

The copper pheasant was described in 1830 by Coenraad Temmerick{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=269}} as Phasianus soemmerringii.{{Cite book |last=Temminck |first=Coenraad J. |author-link=Coenraad Jacob Temminck |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/109466 |title=Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux : pour servir de suite et de complément aux planches enluminées de Buffon |year=1838 |location=Paris |page=83 |language=fr |trans-title=New collection of colored plates of birds, to serve as a continuation and complement to Buffon's illuminated plates}} It was named for the German scientist Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, {{Sfn|Beolens|Watkins|Grayson|2014|p=520}} while the subspecies S. s. ijimae is named for Japanese zoologist Isao Ijima.{{Sfn|Beolens|Watkins|Grayson|2014|pp=274-275}} It was reclassified into the Syrmaticus genus in 1914 by William Beebe, despite the differences between the males, because he saw a high number of similarities between females of the genus.{{Cite book |last=Beebe |first=William |author-link=William Beebe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fEYAAAAYAAJ |title=Preliminary Pheasant Studies |year=1914 |location= United States |pages=283–284}} However, based on the reports of interbreeding between the copper pheasant and the green pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) in Nobusuke Takatsukasa's 1943 pamphlet, Studies of the Galli of Nippon, the Ornithological Society of Japan moved the bird back into the Phasianus genus.{{Cite book |last=Bohl |first=Wayne H. |url=https://archive.org/details/specialscientif00unitct/page/46/mode/2up?q=copper |title=A Study and Review of the Japanese Green and Korean Ring-necked Pheasants |publisher=United States Department of the Interior |year=1964 |location=Washington D.C. |pages=29}} In the same book, Takatsukasa also split the copper pheasant into two species and eliminated all subspecies. Those, as well as other taxonomic changes he proposed, were termed by a United States Fish and Wildlife Service report as "not in accordance with sound systematic practice".{{Cite book |last1=Austin |first1=O.L |url=https://archive.org/details/japaneseornithol305aust |title=Japanese Ornithology and Mammalogy during World War II (An Annotated Bibliography): Wildlife Leaflet 305 |last2=Hachisuka |first2=Masauji |last3=Takashima |first3=Haruo |last4=Kuroda |first4=Nagahisa |publisher=United States Department of the Interior, United States Fish and Wildlife Service |year=1948 |page=15}} The copper pheasant is sometimes still referred to as Phasianus soemmerringii in Japanese literature.{{Sfn|Watanabe|Matsuoka|Hasegawa|2018|p=475}}

There are five recognized subspecies of copper pheasant:{{Cite web |title=Syrmaticus soemmerringii |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=176097#null |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=Integrated Taxonomic Information System |language=en-US}}

• Soermmering's copper pheasant (S. s. soemmerringii) (Temminck, 1830) is found the northern and central Kyushu. The nominate subspecies, it is dark reddish in colour with an amber sheen to the rump and tips of the upper-tail coverts.
• Ijima copper pheasant (S. s. ijimae) (Dresser, 1902), also known as the {{nihongo|koshijiro-yamadori|コシジロヤマドリ|}} (literally white-waisted yamadori), is found in southern to central Kyushu. It is similar in appearance to soemmeringii, but the male has a white rump.
• Scintillating copper pheasant (S. s. scintillans) (Gould, 1866), also known as the shining copper pheasant or Honda copper pheasant{{Sfn|Beebe|1922|p=162}} is found in northern Honshu, from the Kansai region to Aomori prefecture. It is the palest subspecies, with broad white fringes on its belly and flanks.
• Shikoku copper pheasant (S. s. intermedius) (Kuroda, 1919) is found in Shikoku and the Chūgoku regions. Like scintillans, it has white fringes on its belly and flanks, but is darker.
• Pacific copper pheasant (S. s. subrufus) (Kuroda, 1919) is found in the Ehime, and Kōchi, and Yamaguchi prefectures and the Bōsō, Izu, and Kii peninsula. It has golden fringes on its rump and upper-tail coverts.

Both S. s. ijimae{{Sfn|Beebe|1922|p=175}} and S. s. scintillans were initially described as distinct species.{{Sfn|Beebe|1922|p=169}}

Pleistocene-era Syrmaticus fossils in Japan have been classified as S. soemmerringii, but this identification is disputed. {{Sfn|Watanabe|Matsuoka|Hasegawa|2018|pp=474-475}}

It is a large pheasant with a rich coppery chestnut plumage, yellowish bill, brown iris, and red facial skin. The female is a brown bird with greyish brown upperparts and buff barred dark brown below. The male has short spurs on its grey legs, while the female has none. Males are between {{Convert|87.5|cm|in}} and {{Convert|136|cm|in}} long, including the tail, while the female is between {{Convert|51|cm|in}} and {{Convert|54|cm|in}} (subspecies scintillating copper pheasant, scintillans).Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 2, Lynx Edicions, Barcelona Juveniles have similar plumage to the females.{{Cite book |last1=McGowan |first1=Phil |title=Pheasants, Partridges & Grouse: Including buttonquails, sandgrouse and allies |last2=Madge |first2=Steve |publisher=A & C Black |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4081-3566-2 |edition=illustrated |pages=320–321}} The plumage of the chicks is, overall, chestnut, with some darker patches of brown on the back of the neck and cream-coloured feathers on the face. Darker stripes of cream and dark brown run along their face and neck.{{Sfn|Beebe|1922|p=161}}

The copper pheasant is distributed in and endemic to the hill and mountain forests of the Honshū, Kyūshū, and Shikoku islands{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=269}} at elevations of up to {{Convert|1800|m|mi}}.{{Sfn|BirdLife International|2016}} It typically confines itself to deciduous forest floors with extensive vegetation. However, members of the species also lives in conifer forests. They often nest on the edges of grasslands.{{Cite journal |last=Kawaji |first=Noritomo |date=2013-11-28 |title=Copper Pheasant |url=https://www.bird-research.jp/1_shiryo/seitai/yamadori.pdf |journal=Bird Research News |volume=3 |issue=11 |pages=4–5 |access-date=2024-05-09}} It naturally occurs only south of the Blakiston's Line, and this species' distribution was originally cited as evidence for the line's existence.{{Sfn|Watanabe|Matsuoka|Hasegawa|2018|p=485}}

Copper pheasant populations have been established on Hokkaido and Sado Island.

The bird is not heavily vocal, only occasionally making a "kuk-kuk"-like call when breeding or threatened.{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=271}} These pheasants are known to sunbathe, especially when living in grasslands. They roost in trees, and are a non-migratory bird.{{Sfn|BirdLife International|2016}}

File:Syrmaticus soemmerringii ssp. subrufus chick.jpg

The copper pheasant's mating season occurs between March and July, with the exact month depending local climate. During this time, males perform their wing-whirring display{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=271}} and fight other males in an attempt to secure a mate. It is unknown if the species is monogamous. Male copper pheasants exhibit aggressive behaviour in captivity, sometimes killing their mates.{{Cite book |last=Delacour |first=Jean |url=https://archive.org/details/pheasantbreeding0005dela |title=Pheasant breeding and care |publisher=T.F.H. Publications |year=1978 |location=Neptune, New Jersey |pages=28–29}} It is usual for this species to be bred in captivity by means of artificial insemination.

Copper pheasants typically nest on the ground, but have also been recorded nesting in trees.{{Cite journal |last=Kawaji |first=Noritomo |date=2006 |title=Yamadori chijō negura no hatsu kansatsu kiroku |script-title=ja:ヤマドリ地上ねぐらの初観察記録 |trans-title=First observation of ground roosting of the copper pheasant. |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjo/55/2/55_2_92/_article/-char/ja/ |journal=日本鳥学会誌 |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=92–95 |doi=10.2326/jjo.55.92}} They often build their nests in hollows sheltered by fallen trees.{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=271}} Captive birds have a clutch of ten to twenty eggs, while wild birds have a clutch of seven to thirteen eggs.{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=271}} The cream-coloured or tan eggs take twenty five days to hatch,{{Cite book |last=Howman |first=Keith |url=https://archive.org/details/pheasantsofworld0000keit |title=Pheasants of the World: Their Breeding and Management |publisher=Hancock House Publishing |year=1993 |page=136 |quote=Status in captivity: poor outside Japan}} and the chicks are able to walk within hours of hatching. After all the chicks have hatched, they abandon the nest and stay at their mother's side until adulthood. Occasionally, the male pheasant is seen near his offspring and mate,{{Sfn|Beebe|1922|pp=166-167}} but young are raised primarily by their mother. When threatened, she will either attack potential predators or attempt to distract them by feigning injury herself. Young birds reach maturity in less than a year.{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=271}}

Their diet consists mainly of insects, insect larvae, worms, crabs, berries, and acorns, especially those from the Castanopsis, Machilus, Cleyera, and Castanea trees. {{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=270}} Adults eat a substantial amount of leaf and fern matter, while the young mostly consume insects.{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=270}}

The copper pheasant serves as an important source of prey to Japanese populations of the golden eagle and Hodgson's hawk eagle.{{Cite journal |last1=Yamaguchi |first1=Yasuhiro |last2=Kawaji |first2=Noritomo |year=2003 |title=Habitat Use of the Copper Pheasant Syrmaticus soemmerringii in Central Japan |url=https://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/labs/kanko/388-5.pdf |journal=Bulletin of FFPRI |publisher=Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute |volume=2 |issue=3 |page=193}} It is susceptible to infection by the heterakis gallinarum parasite.{{Cite book |title=Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds |date=2009-03-10 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-8138-0457-6 |editor-last=Atkinson |editor-first=Carter T. |edition=2009 |page=391 |editor-last2=Hunter |editor-first2=D. Bruce |editor-last3=Thomas |editor-first3=Nancy J.}}

File:Ehon Momochidori Kyōka-awase-百千鳥狂歌合-Myriad Birds- Picture Book of Playful Verse (Momo chidori kyōka-awase) MET DP283344.jpg.]]

The copper pheasant can take the role of a yōkai in Japanese folklore. Tying the pheasant's tail feather's to an arrow grants the arrow the ability to harm malignant spirits in some stories.{{Cite book |last=Aramata |first=Hiroshi |title=Sekai dai hakubutsu zukan |publisher=Heibonsha |year=1987 |volume=4 |page=133 |language=ja |script-title=ja:世界大博物図鑑 |trans-title=World Museum Illustrated Book}}

The copper pheasant is used in an early 8th century poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro,{{cite book | last = Mostow | first = Joshua S. | title = Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | year = 1996 | isbn = 0-8248-1705-2 | page=149}} where it is used a metaphor for "the separation of lovers".{{Cite journal |last=Mewhinney |first=Matthew1 |year=2022 |title=The Pheasant's Call and the Sound of Sympathy. |url=https://jll.pitt.edu/ojs/JLL/article/view/223 |journal=Japanese Language & Literature |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=17–18 |doi=10.5195/jll.2022.223 |issn=1536-7827|doi-access=free }}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}

{{Waka|葦引の山鳥の尾のしだり尾の|ながながし夜をひとりかも寝む|reading=ashihiki no yamadori no o no shidari o no naganaga shi yo o hitori kamo nemu|translation=Am I to sleep alone this long night, long like a drooping tail, tail feathers of copper pheasants resting mountains apart?|source=Kakinomoto no Hitomaro}}

Several screens, dating to the eighth century and incorporating copper pheasant feathers, are kept in the Shōsō-in temple. The screens were mistakenly assumed to be Chinese, but are, in reality, of Japanese origin.{{Cite journal |last=Milburn |first=Olivia |date=2020 |title=Featherwork in Early and Medieval China |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7817/jameroriesoci.140.3.0549 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |language=en |volume=140 |issue=3 |pages=561 |doi=10.7817/jameroriesoci.140.3.0549 |jstor=10.7817/jameroriesoci.140.3.0549 |issn=2169-2289 }} Unidentified bones of either copper pheasants or chickens have been found at Japanese archaeological sites from the Kofun period.{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of Zooarchaeology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-968647-6 |editor-last=Russ |editor-first=Hannah |page=345 |editor-last2=Vickers |editor-first2=Kim |editor-last3=Rizzetto |editor-first3=Mauro |editor-last4=Viner-Daniels |editor-first4=Sarah |editor-last5=Albarella |editor-first5=Umberto}}

The copper pheasant is a popular game animal in Japan.{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=272}} They are hunted both as a source of food and a source of entertainment.{{Sfn|BirdLife International|2016}}

It is the official bird of the Gunma{{Cite web |title=Ken no shiboru |script-title=ja:県のシンボル |trans-title=Prefecture Symbols |url=https://www.pref.gunma.jp/01/bu0100008.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921013035/https://www.pref.gunma.jp/01/bu0100008.html |archive-date=2022-09-21 |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=www.pref.gunma.jp |language=ja}} and Akita prefectures.{{Cite web |date=2017-10-02 |title=Akita no shinboru (Kiddzupēji) |script-title=ja:秋田のシンボル(キッズページ) |trans-title=Symbols of the Akita Prefecture (For kids) |url=https://www.pref.akita.lg.jp/pages/archive/25804 |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=美の国あきたネット |language=ja}} The Ijima subspecies is the official bird of the Miyazaki prefecture,{{Cite web |last=宮崎県 |title=Ken no ki・ken no hana・ken no tori |script-title=ja:県の木・県の花・県の鳥 |trans-title=Prefecture tree, prefecture flower, prefecture bird |url=https://www.pref.miyazaki.lg.jp/kohosenryaku/kense/koho/symbol2.html |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=宮崎県 |language=ja}}as well as a natural monument in the town of Asagiri, Kumamoto.{{Cite web |title=Koshijiro-yamadori |script-title=ja:コシジロヤマドリ |trans-title=White-waisted yamadori |url=https://www.town.asagiri.lg.jp/q/aview/53/468.html |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=www.town.asagiri.lg.jp |language=ja}} As of 2024, the copper pheasant is the also the official bird of Japanese cities, towns, and villages of Hachimantai,{{Cite web |date=2021-04-01 |title=Shimin kenshō to ichi no hana tori ki ga kettei shimashita |script-title=ja:市民憲章と市の花・鳥・木が決定しました |trans-title=Citizen charter and city flowers, birds, and trees decided |url=https://www.city.hachimantai.lg.jp/soshiki/machi/2041.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.city.hachimantai.lg.jp}} Higashinaruse,{{Cite web |date=2023-05-01 |title=Gi-kai yō ran |script-title=ja:議 会 要 覧 |url=https://vill.higashinaruse.lg.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/6098c5df0addcf67129b5f6c32ef5591-2.pdf |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=vill.higashinaruse.lg.jp}} Ichinohe,{{Cite web |title=Ichinohechō no shinboru |script-title=ja:一戸町のシンボル |trans-title=Symbolc of Ichinohe Town |url=https://www.town.ichinohe.iwate.jp/soshikikarasagasu/somuka/gyouseikakari/1/375.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.town.ichinohe.iwate.jp |language=ja}} Ikawa,{{Cite web |title=Gappei kyōgi-kaida yori |script-title=ja:合併協議会だより |url=http://www.town.ikawa.akita.jp/docs/2012101900040/files/kyougi20040510.pdf |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=town.ikawa.akita.jp |page=9}} Iwaizumi,{{Cite web |title=Chōka・machi tori・chōboku |script-title=ja:町花・町鳥・町木 |trans-title=Town flower, town bird, town tree |url=https://www.town.iwaizumi.lg.jp/docs/2016022200548/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.town.iwaizumi.lg.jp |language=ja}} Isehara,{{Cite web |title=Ichi no ki, ichi no hana, ichi no tori |script-title=ja:市の木、市の花、市の鳥 |trans-title=City tree, city flower, city bird |url=https://www.city.isehara.kanagawa.jp/reiki_int/reiki_honbun/c500RG00000291.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.city.isehara.kanagawa.jp}} Kamiyama,{{Cite web |date=2015-09-07 |title=Ichi・chisei rekishi・enkaku ni tsuite |script-title=ja:位置・地勢、歴史・沿革について |trans-title=About the location, topography, and history |url=https://www.town.kamiyama.lg.jp/office/soumu/gyousei/topography.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=town.kamiyama.lg.jp |language=ja-JP}} Kanegasaki,{{Cite web |title=Machi no gaiyō |script-title=ja:町の概要 |trans-title=Town overview |url=https://www.town.kanegasaki.iwate.jp/docs/2017062100386/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.town.kanegasaki.iwate.jp}} Karumai,{{Cite web |title=Hiro-hō karumai |script-title=ja:広 報 かるまい |trans-title=Public Relations Karumai |url=https://www.town.karumai.iwate.jp/article/docs/kouhou/2015/kg-k%2027tokubetugou.pdf |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=town.karumai.iwate.jp |page=5}}Kitaaiki,{{Cite web |date=2024-04-08 |title=Kitaaiki-mura ni tsuite |script-title=ja:北相木村について |trans-title=About Kitaaiki Village |url=http://www.vill.kitaaiki.nagano.jp/docs/314.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=vill.kitaaiki.nagano.jp |language=ja}} Kunohe,{{Cite web |title=Sonmin kenshō sonshō yurai |script-title=ja:村民憲章・村章・由来 |trans-title=Villager Charter/Village Emblem/Origin |url=http://www.vill.kunohe.iwate.jp/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.vill.kunohe.iwate.jp |language=ja}}Kuzumaki,{{Cite web |date=2023-07-09 |title=Gaiyō |script-title=ja:概要 |trans-title=Overview |url=https://www.town.kuzumaki.lg.jp/docs/2015102200072/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.town.kuzumaki.lg.jp |language=ja}} Mihara,{{Cite web |title=Mihara no go shōkai |script-title=ja:三原村のご紹介 |trans-title=Introduction to Miharu |url=http://www.vill.mihara.kochi.jp/kurasi/info.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308172930/http://www.vill.mihara.kochi.jp/kurasi/info.html |archive-date=2022-03-08 |website=www.vill.mihara.kochi.jp}} Mogami,{{Cite web |title=Chōshō to machi no ki, hana, tori |script-title=ja:町章と町の木、花、鳥 |trans-title=Town emblem and town trees, flowers, and birds |url=https://town.mogami.lg.jp/info/02town-info/04symbol.php |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=town.mogami.lg.jp}} Ōkura,{{Cite web |title=Mura no gaiyō |script-title=ja:村の概要 |trans-title=Village overview |url=https://www.vill.ohkura.yamagata.jp/soshikikarasagasu/somuka/gyomuannai/19/667.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.vill.ohkura.yamagata.jp |language=ja}} Okutama,{{Cite web |date=2022-04-01 |title=Chōshō ki hana tori |script-title=ja:町章・木・花・鳥 |trans-title=Town emblem, tree, flower, bird |url=https://www.town.okutama.tokyo.jp/1/somuka/okutamamachinogaiyo/1112.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.town.okutama.tokyo.jp |language=ja}} Shiiba,{{Cite web |date=2015-03-15 |title=Shībason no gaiyō |script-title=ja:椎葉村の概要 |trans-title=Overview of Shiiba villiage |url=https://www.vill.shiiba.miyazaki.jp/about/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.vill.shiiba.miyazaki.jp}} Sumita,{{Cite web |title=Me de mite wakaru sumidamachi |script-title=ja:目で見てわかる住田町 |trans-title=Sumita Town Data |url=https://www.town.sumita.iwate.jp/docs/2015020300014/files/35.pdf |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=town.sumita.iwate.jp/ |language=ja}} Takayama,{{Cite web |title=Kōyamamura no gaiyō |script-title=ja:高山村の概要 |trans-title=Overview of Takayama Village |url=https://vill.takayama.gunma.jp/02chiiki/gaiyo/gaiyo.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=vill.takayama.gunma.jp}} Tanohata,{{Cite web |title=Sonshō mura no shinboru |script-title=ja:村章・村のシンボル |trans-title=Village coat of arms/village symbol |url=https://www.vill.tanohata.iwate.jp/docs/2015073100050/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.vill.tanohata.iwate.jp}} Tōno,{{Cite web |date=2006-06-14 |title=Tōno-shi no hana・tori・ki |script-title=ja:遠野市の花・鳥・木 |trans-title=Tōno's official flower, bird, and plant |url=https://www.city.tono.iwate.jp/index.cfm/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.city.tono.iwate.jp%2Findex.cfm%2F49%2C13625%2C259%2C532%2Chtml |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.city.tono.iwate.jp |language=ja}} Yasuoka,{{Cite web |title=Yasuoka-mura no shōkai |script-title=ja:泰阜村の紹介 |trans-title=Introduction to Yasuoka Villiage |url=https://www.vill.yasuoka.nagano.jp/docs/2352.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.vill.yasuoka.nagano.jp}} Yamakita,{{Cite web |title=Chōshō machi no ki hana tori |script-title=ja:町章・町の木・花・鳥 |trans-title=Town emblem, town tree, flower, bird |url=http://www.town.yamakita.kanagawa.jp/0000000156.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=town.yamakita.kanagawa.jp |language=ja}} and Yuzawa.{{Cite web |title=Ichi no hana ki tori |script-title=ja:市の花・木・鳥 |trans-title=City flower, tree, and bird |url=https://www.city-yuzawa.jp/soshiki/7/1143.html |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.city-yuzawa.jp}}

It has been depicted on stamps from Japan{{Sfn|Erickson|Erickson|1988|pp=140-143}} and Laos.{{Sfn|Erickson|Erickson|1988|p=154}}

Outside of Japan, the copper pheasant is infrequently kept as a pet or display animal.{{Sfn|BirdLife International|2016}}

In 1922, an addendum to the Plumage Act of 1908 halted the importation of copper pheasant feathers into the UK. They were removed from the list after a year.{{Cite news |date=1923-08-20 |title=The Plumage Act. |url= |work=The Times |location=London, England |page=7 |issue=43424}}

From 1907 to 1914, there was a series unsuccessful attempts made by the Hawaii Board of Agriculture and Forestry to establish copper pheasants colonies on the Hawaiian islands.{{Cite journal |last1=Schwartz |first1=Charles W. |last2=Schwartz |first2=Elizabeth Reeder |year=1951 |title=An Ecological Reconnaissance of the Pheasants in Hawaii |url=https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/68/3/281-314/5223856 |journal=The Auk |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=283 |doi=10.2307/4080980|jstor=4080980 }}{{Cite web |last1=Pyle |first1=Robert L. |last2=Pyle |first2=Peter |date=2017-01-01 |title=The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status |url=http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/NonEstablished.htm |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=hbs.bishopmuseum.org}} Another attempt to introduce the birds to the United States was made around 1885 by an American diplomat, when he released three pairs of birds into Puget Sound.{{Cite book |last=Phillips |first=John C. |url=https://archive.org/details/WildBirdsIntroducedOrTransplantedInNorthAmerica |title=Wild birds introduced or transplanted in North America |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |year=1928 |page=45}} It was made illegal in the U.S. states of Nebraska{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/gamelawsinnebras00nebr/page/n3/mode/2up |title=Game Laws of Nebraska in force March 7, 1899 |publisher=Jacob Nord & Co., Printers |year=1898 |editor-last=Sheldon |editor-first=A. E. |pages=1}} and Oregon{{Cite book |last=Woodcock |first=Arthur Roy |url=https://archive.org/details/annotatedlistbi00woodgoog |title=Annotated list of the birds of Oregon |publisher=Oregon Agricultural Printing Office |year=1902 |pages=104}} to hunt birds he had introduced, but a copper pheasant population was never established.

As of 2016, the copper pheasant was listed as "Near Threatened" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with the exact number of wild adults unknown. It has been listed as a near-threatened species since 2004, but had previously held the same classification in 1988.{{Sfn|BirdLife International|2016}} The ijimae subspecies is protected in Japan,{{Sfn|McGowan|Garson|1995|p=50}} with both S. s. soemmeringii and S. s. ijimae being listed as "Near Threatened" on the Japanese Red List.{{Cite web |year=2020 |title=[Honyūrui] Kankyōshō reddo risuto 2020 |script-title=ja:【哺乳類】環境省レッドリスト2020 |trans-title=(Mammals) Ministry of the Environment Red List 2020 |url=https://www.env.go.jp/content/900515981.pdf |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=www.env.go.jp |publisher=Ministry of the Environment |language=ja}}

In 1995, an IUCN report called for the continued monitoring of the species, citing over-hunting and a lack of knowledge about the species' behaviour as a reason to study and protect them.{{Sfn|McGowan|Garson|1995|p=97}} Threats to the species include non-native predation, overhunting, and habitat destruction.{{Sfn|BirdLife International|2016}} Feral dogs and cats disturb nesting sites, further negatively impacting the species.{{Sfn|McGowan|Garson|1995|p=8}} However, overhunting is widely considered as the greatest threat to the species.{{Sfn|BirdLife International|2016}}{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=272}}{{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=Matthew |title=Threatened and Recently Extinct Vertebrates of the World |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-108-85258-6}}

Throughout the twentieth century half a million{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=272}}{{Sfn|McGowan|Garson|1995|p=50}} to 800,000{{Sfn|Mahood|Benstead|Taylor|5=2024}} copper pheasants were killed by hunters every year. In 1976, to prevent further decline of the species, it was made illegal in Japan to hunt female copper pheasants.{{Sfn|Johnsgard|1999|p=272}}{{Sfn|BirdLife International|2016}} The number of birds hunted decreased to 100,000 per year by the 1990s.{{Sfn|Mahood|Benstead|Taylor|5=2024}} As of 2006, the number of birds killed annually had dropped to 6,000. To allow for hunting, captive-bred copper pheasants are released every year throughout Japan,{{Sfn|McGowan|Garson|1995|p=50}} including in regions such as Hokkaido and Sado Island where they are a non-native species.

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Beebe |first=Williams |author-link=William Beebe |url=https://ia802903.us.archive.org/30/items/monographpheasa3Beeb/monographpheasa3Beeb.pdf |title=A Monograph of the Pheasants |publisher=HF & G Witherby |year=1922 |volume=3 |location=London, England}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Beolens|first1=Bo |title=The Eponym Dictionary of Birds |last2=Watkins |first2=Michael |last3=Grayson |first3=Michael |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4729-0574-1}}
• {{cite report |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title="Syrmaticus soemmerringii" |work=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679340A92811551.en }}
• {{Cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Jens |url=https://archive.org/details/collectbirdsonst0000erik |title=Collect Birds on Stamps |last2=Erickson |first2=Hanne |publisher=Stanley Gibbons |year=1988 |isbn=0-85259-182-9 |edition=2 |location=London and Ringwood}}
• {{Cite book |last=Johnsgard |first=Paul A. |title=The pheasants of the world: biology and natural history |date=1999 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |isbn=978-1-56098-839-7 |edition=2nd |location=Washington, DC |pages=271 |language=en}}
• {{Cite web |last1=Mahood |first1=D. |last2=Benstead |first2=P. |last3=Taylor |first3=J. |title=Copper Pheasant (Syrmaticus soemmerringii) - BirdLife species factsheet |date = 2024 |url=https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/copper-pheasant-syrmaticus-soemmerringii/text |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=datazone.birdlife.org}}
• {{Cite book |last1=McGowan |first1=Philip J. K. |url=https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/1995-056.pdf |title=Pheasants: status survey and conservation action plan, 1995-1999 |last2=Garson |first2=Peter J. |date=1995 |publisher=IUCN |others=WPA/BirdLife/SSC Pheasant Specialist Group, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |isbn=978-2-8317-0299-5 |location=Gland, Switzerland}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Watanabe |first1=Junya |last2=Matsuoka |first2=Hiroshige |last3=Hasegawa |first3=Yoshikazu |date=2018-08-11 |title=Pleistocene non-passeriform landbirds from Shiriya, northeast Japan |url=https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app63/app005092018.pdf |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=469–491 |doi=10.4202/app.00509.2018 |issn=0078-8562}}

{{Commons category|Syrmaticus soemmerringii}}

• [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=270&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060620230919/http://www.rdb.or.id/detailbird.php?id=349 Red Data Book]

{{Phasianidae}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q731600}}

Category:Syrmaticus

Category:Endemic birds of Japan

Category:Birds described in 1830

Category:Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck