| Golden Pheasant | |
|---|---|
 male | |
 female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Chrysolophus |
| Species: | Chrysolophus pictus |
The Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) is a gamebird in the family Phasianidae.
Description[]
The Golden Pheasant has a body shape similar to that of most fowl. It is a robust bird, weighing about 630 g, with pretty long, spurred legs, a thick bill, and short, rounded wings (70 cm of wingspan) due to its terrestrial habits. Like most pheasants, this bird shows evident sexual dimorphism. The male is 90-100 cm long and is very colourful, with bright red underparts, a yellow tuft of feathers on its head, a "mantle" of black-tipped yellow feathers that covers the sides of the neck, a blue-green patch on its back, (also with black feather-tips), a yellow rump, brown wings with a blue patch at the base, and a long, golden-brown tail that makes up for about two thirds of the bird's body length. The female is smaller, measuring 60-80 cm in length, and has a plumage that provides better camouflage, brown with black speckles and bars. The female, too, has a long tail, albeit slightly shorter than the male's: it makes up for more than half of its body length.
Behaviour and Lifecycle[]
A gregarious bird, the Golden Pheasant lives in hierarchical groups where the most dominant individuals have access to the best food sources and higher chances to reproduce. This bird is a ground-dweller that walks the forest floor looking for the seeds, edible leaves, and invertebrates it feeds on, taking flight only when strictly necessary. Its short wings allow it to take off rapidly in order to escape a predator, but not to fly high or to cover long distances. When fighting, males use their beaks, claws, and leg spurs. To attract a mate, they do a display in which they "dance" and raise their mantle feathers. The female lays 5-12 eggs and incubates them for 22-23 days. The chicks fledge after a couple of weeks, and reach sexual maturity at 1 or 2 years of age. The life expectancy in the wild is 1 year.
Distribution and Habitat[]
The Golden Pheasant is a woodland bird living in the mountains of central and southern China. It has also been introduced in the United States and Europe, where feral populations now live.