The photo of the male shown below is a mixed breed. It is Amherst mixed with Red Golden pheasant. A true Amherest does not have a red belly and yellow head. This is a hybrid and should not ever be sold as, or marked as a true Amherst.
| Lady Amherst's Pheasant | |
|---|---|
 male | |
 female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Chrysolophus |
| Species: | Chrysolophus amherstiae |
Lady Amherst's Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) is a gamebird in the family Phasianidae.
Appearance[]
The male is very colorful with an extremely long black and white tail with red streaks, greenish back, red and yellow rump, and black-and-white neck ruff that can be expanded during the breeding session, and blue wings. Females are brown with black striping and gray skin around the eye.
Lady Amherst's Pheasants are small; with a size of 3 – 4 ft long and a weight of 1.5 – 2 pounds.
Life History[]
This pheasant can live 6 – 10 years in wild and up to 15 years under human care.
Occurrence[]
Lady Amherst's Pheasants can be found in southwestern China and northern Burma in forested areas and bamboo thickets.
Diet[]
This bird feeds on seeds, berries, and roots.
Nesting[]
Females lay about 5 to 12 eggs around May, depending on climate. The incubation period is about 22 days.
Behavior[]
Lady Amherst's Pheasants move about quietly when feeding in dense vegetation, usually singly or in pairs. They are predominantly ground dwelling birds, preferring to run rather than fly.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The bird is named after Sarah Countess Amherst, wife of Sir William Pitt Amherst, Governor of Bengal. The Governor was responsible for sending the first specimen of the bird to London in 1828.
Bibliography[]
- “Lady Amherst's Pheasant.” EBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://ebird.org/species/laaphe1.
- "Lady Amherst’s Pheasant Fact Sheet." Racine Zoo, https://www.racinezoo.org/lady-amherst%E2%80%99s-pheasant-fact-sheet.