Pheasant

Pheasant
	Mongolian ringneck-type; common pheasant Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Superfamily:	Phasianoidea
Family:	Phasianidae; Horsfield, 1821
Groups included
	Argusianus; Catreus; Chrysolophus; Crossoptilon; Ithaginis; Lophura; Phasianus; Polyplectron; Pucrasia; Rheinardia; Syrmaticus;
Cladistically included but traditionally excluded taxa
	Rollulinae; Lerwini; Lophophorini; Meleagridini; Tetraonini; Rhizotherini; Perdix; Coturnicini; Gallini; Tropicoperdix; Pavonina; Galloperdix; Haematortyx;

Pheasants (/ˈfɛzənt/) 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 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.[1]

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 pheasants call or cry can be recognised due to 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.[2]

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.[3]

Species in taxonomic order

This list is ordered to show presumed relationships between species.

Subfamily Phasianinae
- Tribe Ithaginini
  - Blood pheasant (genus Ithaginis)
    - Blood pheasant (I. cruentus)
- Tribe Pucrasiini
  - Koklass (genus Pucrasia)
    - Koklass pheasant (P. macrolopha)
- Tribe Phasianini
  - Long-tailed pheasants (genus Syrmaticus)
    - Reeves's pheasant (S. reevesi)
    - Elliot's pheasant (S. ellioti)
    - Mrs. Hume's pheasant (S. humiae)
    - Mikado pheasant (S. mikado)
    - Copper pheasant (S. soemmerringi)
  - Ruffed pheasants (genus Chrysolophus)
    - Golden pheasant (C. pictus)
    - Lady Amherst's pheasant (C. amherstiae)
  - Typical pheasants (genus Phasianus)
    - Green pheasant (P. versicolor)
    - Common pheasant (P. colchicus)
      - Caucasus pheasants, Phasianus colchicus colchicus group
      - White-winged pheasants, Phasianus colchicus chrysomelas/principalis group
        Prince of Wales pheasant, Phasianus colchicus principalis
      - Mongolian ring-necked pheasants or white-winged ring-necked pheasants, Phasianus colchicus mongolicus group
      - Tarim pheasants, Phasianus colchicus tarimensis group
      - Chinese ring-necked pheasants, Phasianus colchicus torquatus group
        Taiwan pheasant, Phasianus colchicus formosanus
- Cheer pheasant (genus Catreus)
  - Cheer pheasant (C. wallichi)
- Gallopheasants (genus Lophura)
  - Kalij pheasant (L. leucomelanos)
    - White-crested kalij pheasant (L. l. hamiltoni)
    - Nepal kalij pheasant (L. l. leucomelanos)
    - Black-backed kalij pheasant (L. l. melanota)
    - Black kalij pheasant (L. l. moffitti)
    - Black-breasted kalij pheasant (L. l. lathami)
    - William's kalij pheasant (L. l. williamsi)
    - Oates' kalij pheasant (L. l. oatesi)
    - Crawfurd's kalij pheasant (L. l. crawfurdi)
    - Lineated kalij pheasant (L. l. lineata)
  - Silver pheasant (L. nycthemera)
  - Imperial pheasant (L. imperialis)
  - Edward's pheasant (L. edwardsi)
  - Vietnamese pheasant (L. hatinhensis)
  - Swinhoe's pheasant (L. swinhoii)
  - Hoogerwerf's pheasant (L. hoogerwerfi)
  - Salvadori's pheasant (L. inornata)
  - Crestless fireback (L. erythrophthalma)
    - Malayan crestless fireback (L. e. erythrophthalma)
    - Bornean crestless fireback (L. e. pyronota)
  - Crested fireback (L. ignita)
    - Lesser Bornean crested fireback (L. i. ignita)
    - Greater Bornean crested fireback (L. i. nobilis)
    - Vieilott's crested fireback (L. i. rufa)
    - Delacour's crested fireback (L. i. macartneyi)
  - 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)

Pheasant fowling, "Showing how to catch pheasants", facsimile of a miniature in the manuscript of the "Livre du Roy Modus" (fourteenth century).

Cheer pheasant pair in Himalaya, India

Previous classifications

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 Indian Sporting Birds (1915) and Game Birds of India and Asia (1911?).

These old genera were used for:

Vernacular	Hume & Marshall	Finn: Sporting Birds	Finn: Game Birds	Contemporary
Vieillot's crested fireback	E. vielloti	Lophura rufa (sic)		L. ignita rufa
Black-backed kalij	E. melanonotus	G. melanonotus		L. leucomelanos melanota
Common or white-crested kalij	E. albocristatus	G. albocristatus		L. leucomelanos hamiltoni
Nepal kalij	E. leucomelanus	G. leucomelanus		L. leucomelanos leucomelanos
Purple, Horsfield's or black-breasted kalij	E. horsfieldi	G. horsfieldi		L. leucomelanos lathami
Lineated kalij	E. lineatus	G. lineatus also: Burmese silver pheasant		L. leucomelanos lineata
Anderson's silver pheasant	?	G. andersoni, considered hybrid of L. nycthemera and L. l. lineata		L. nycthemera andersoni (invalid)
Crawfurd's silver pheasant (or Crawford's? )	E. andersoni	considered a further cross of Anderson's and L. l. lineata		?
Crawfurd's kalij (same as C.'s silver pheasant?)	?		G. andersoni	L. leucomelanos crawfurdi
Cuvier's kalij	?		G. cuvieri	?
Oates's kalij	?		G. oatesi	L. leucomelanos oatesi
Whitehead's silver pheasant	?		G. whiteheadi	?
Swinhoe's kalij	?		G. swinhoii	L. swinhoii

References

Kimball, Rebecca T.; Hosner, Peter A.; Braun, Edward L. (2021-05-01). "A phylogenomic supermatrix of Galliformes (Landfowl) reveals biased branch lengths". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 158: 107091. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107091. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 33545275. S2CID 231963063.
Nicolas Milton (1 Oct 2020). "Game birds 'could wipe out adders in most of Britain within 12 years'". Guardian newspapers.
"pheasant". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

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

Videos of pheasants in the Internet Bird Collection

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Kimball, Rebecca T.; Hosner, Peter A.; Braun, Edward L. (2021-05-01). "A phylogenomic supermatrix of Galliformes (Landfowl) reveals biased branch lengths". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 158: 107091. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107091. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 33545275. S2CID 231963063.

[2] Nicolas Milton (1 Oct 2020). "Game birds 'could wipe out adders in most of Britain within 12 years'". Guardian newspapers.

[3] "pheasant". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)