Common pheasant

Lore & Background

The common pheasant was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae under its modern scientific name. The species name colchicus is Latin for 'of Colchis' (modern day Georgia), a country on the Black Sea where pheasants became known to Europeans. The type locality was later fixed to the Rioni River in western Georgia, known as Phasis to the Ancient Greeks. There are many colour forms of the male common pheasant, ranging from nearly white to almost black. The adult male of the nominate subspecies is 60–89 cm in length with a long brown streaked black tail, and body plumage barred bright gold or fiery copper-red with iridescent sheen of green and purple. The female is much less showy, with duller mottled brown plumage. The green pheasant of Japan is sometimes considered a subspecies, and hybrids are common.

Reader's Guide

The common pheasant is a well-known gamebird, among those of more than regional importance perhaps the most widespread and ancient one in the whole world. It has been introduced for hunting to many regions and is also common on game farms, where it is commercially bred. The ring-necked subspecies group in particular are commonly bred and were introduced to many parts of the world; the game farm stock, though no distinct breeds have been developed yet, can be considered semi-domesticated. The ring-necked pheasant is the state bird of South Dakota, one of only two US state birds that is not a species native to the United States. In parts of its range, mainly in places where none of its relatives occurs such as in Europe, where it is naturalised, it is simply known as the pheasant. The species has about 30 subspecies in five to eight groups, and introduced populations have mixed the alleles of various races. An investigation into the genetic relationships of subspecies suggested that the common pheasant originated from the forests of southeastern China, with initial divergence thought to have occurred around 3.4 Mya.

Did You Know?

• The ring-necked pheasant is the state bird of South Dakota, one of only two US state birds not native to the United States.
• The species name colchicus is Latin for 'of Colchis', modern day Georgia, where pheasants became known to Europeans.
• The green pheasant of Japan is sometimes considered a subspecies of the common pheasant, and they produce fertile hybrids.