There are many types of pheasants. Each breed has not only external differences, impressive in a variety of colors of plumage, but also its purpose. Birds are raised for both decorative and culinary purposes. To understand the features of each species, learn about their behavior and habitats, see how representatives of various breeds of pheasants look in the photo, you can in our article.
General information
Pheasants are representatives of chicken. These wonderful birds have vivid external data, which is why they often become lodgers of domestic aviaries or zoos, like the peacocks and parrots known to all of us. However, many species cannot adapt to life in the cell, therefore their habitat should remain in the wild.
How many breeds of pheasants are there? There is no exact answer to this question. Two main species have been established: common (Caucasian) pheasant and green (Japanese). They include more than thirty subspecies of various colors and shapes.
Domestication of this chicken-like bird is realized not only for aesthetic pleasure. An important feature and value of the pheasant is its nutritious meat, which belongs to the category of dietary delicacies. The same can be said about eggs, containing many different vitamins and minerals, as well as rid of large amounts of cholesterol.
Almost all types of pheasant are small in size, their weight may not exceed one and a half kilograms. The size of the physique and the brightness of the plumage are males, and females prefer to be in the shade. Their feathers have a grayish and sandy tint.
Basically, pheasants live in the wild in forests, in reed thickets, in fields, in shrubbery zones. They gained territorial distribution in the Near East (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan) and Central Asia (Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), as well as in China, India and Japan. For cultivation brought to North America and several European countries.
These birds feed on berries, insects, including ants, snails, spiders. They do not disdain mice and lizards. In captivity they can eat grain, young grass.
Consider the main types of pheasants.
Ordinary
A review of pheasant breeds should begin with the most common and popular species, whose homeland is the territory of the Caucasus. Now subspecies of this bird are grown everywhere. The main purpose of the maintenance of the common pheasant is its tasty meat. This bird has rich and vibrant external data. Particularly noteworthy is her long tail with shiny silver plumage. The bird's neck is decorated with green feathers with a red stroke around the eyes.
In the wild, this breed of pheasant is found in flat areas and near water bodies where there are thickets of reeds and cattail.
Gold
This species is widespread in the west and south of China, as well as in several areas of Central Asia. It is found in the Amur and Transbaikal regions. The unusually beautiful appearance of the bird lies in the golden color of the plumage of the back and tail. A yellow crest adorns the head of representatives of this species. The neck area is covered with black and orange feathers, bright red tones are found on the abdominal and lower torso. A long black tail should be added to the description of the Golden Pheasant breed, along its entire length there are light spots.
Due to its very low weight, the golden pheasant is not of interest to the farm. However, he unusually beautifies nature. The representative of the species can easily adapt to the climatic conditions of Europe or America, so it can be seen in many zoos. In the wild, it is difficult to notice it, since this bird is incredibly shy.
Argus
It is difficult to find ordinary words to describe a pheasant breed called Argus. Representatives of this species have a head painted in bright blue, and a neck decorated with orange plumage. The body of the bird is covered with feathers gray-green colors, the eyes have a golden hue. Argus is a relatively large pheasant. The length of his body can reach 50 cm. A distinctive feature of this individual is its magnificent tail, whose rounded feathers are similar to peacock ones. Its length can be one and a half meters in length.
Exotic birds easily tolerate climate change. The birthplace of Argus is the territory of Southeast Asia. To date, this bird can be seen in many zoos around the world.
Royal
The name of the pheasant breed speaks for itself. This species, whose homeland is the mountainous regions of northern China, belongs to decorative birds. The "chambers" of the royal feathered can be seen in many nurseries around the world. In Europe, the content of representatives of this breed is focused on the interests of hunters and organizers of various thematic competitions.
The color of the plumage of the body of a male royal pheasant is yellow. The bird has a snow-white head and a white neck accentuated by black feathers. The female can boast a muted color containing calm brown tones with yellow splashes. The length of the tail of royal birds can reach one meter.
Mirror
Such an unusual name this representative of the squad received due to the original color of the plumage. The body of the male is silver, and the female is brown. A characteristic feature in the color palette is unusual stains. On the back and on the wings of both sexes at this pheasant, kind of “eyes” shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow. The effect of bright tones served to assign such a name.
Mirror variety is the rarest breed of pheasants. Today, representatives of this species can be found mainly in India. Breeding of mirror pheasant breed is carried out on the territory of private farms. They are grown as pets. Mirror pheasants adapt perfectly to climatic conditions and quickly get used to humans.
Diamond
Lady Amherst is another name for this breed of bird, which she received in honor of the wife of a general of India. It was thanks to him that they learned about the existence of a diamond variety in Europe. The homeland of this breed of pheasants is the hilly territories of the provinces of China, Tibet and other mountainous regions. Representatives of this species prefer to live on the hills.
The back and chest of the diamond pheasant is colored dark green, the abdomen has white plumage. The neck and tail are also covered with snow-white feathers, alternating with black ones. The body of the representative of this breed reaches a length of one and a half meters. The tail does not exceed one meter.
Hunting
This breed of pheasants was bred by crossing two varieties. This species is now small in number, but it has a large number of diverse subspecies. Thanks to hunting pheasants, many unusual and beautiful populations appeared. Hence the richest variety of color variations of birds - from snow-white to ink-black. The saturation of colors may vary depending on the gender of the individual. The standard weight of the pheasant of this breed is two kilograms. This species is bred in the United States and European countries. It is very popular among gastronomic gourmets.
Japanese
The question of the homeland of this bird, whose name says a lot, disappears by itself. The Japanese pheasant was introduced and adapted to the climatic conditions of the United States, where it is grown for meat and eggs.
In the color palette of the plumage of this beautiful breed of pheasant, all shades of green prevail on its chest and neck. The head is decorated with dark red feathers, and the wings are blue and brown.
On average, an individual male Japanese pheasant can reach a weight of one kilogram, and females - seven hundred grams. The body length of a representative of this species varies from 50 centimeters to one meter.
Silver
This is also a very interesting breed of pheasant. The photo shows its spectacular silver color. In fact, the color palette of males of this species is multicolored and diverse. The head has red plumage and black tuft, and the lower part of the body has blue blotches. Feathers of females of olive-brown and light shades. They have bright spots on the abdomen and chest, and red cheeks on the head.
The male of this breed of pheasants grows up to one meter in length, and its tail - up to 70 centimeters. Females are much smaller. Their body does not exceed 70 centimeters in length.
Silver pheasant was widely distributed in southern China. Living in shrubs and thickets of bamboo, representatives of this breed prefer mountainous terrain (600-1200 meters above sea level).
Citric
This breed of pheasants was bred artificially. Representatives of the golden pheasant played a special role in obtaining this species. The size of the male adult usually exceeds one meter. The female is 30-50 centimeters smaller. In the wild, this pheasant lives on the territory of Central China. It can also be found in many countries of Europe.
The plumage of lemon pheasant is predominantly bright yellow. In females, the color is less saturated.
White
The name of this breed indicates that the main color in the color of the birds are white tones. “Snowy” feathers cover the chest and back, a black “hat” flaunts on the head of the individual. Also black is present in the color of the edge of the tail and wings. This bird is called the eared pheasant, although no ears are visible on its head.
White pheasant is a fairly rare breed. Outside the enclosure, this bird is not so easy to meet. Their homeland is the vicinity of Tibet. However, life in the cell for this pheasant is also quiet. The bird adapts well to the climatic conditions of different territories. It should be said that representatives of the breed can have feathers on their whole body, including the tail, completely white. A characteristic feature of birds is the red border around the eyes.
Nepali
This decorative breed of pheasants is also called Himalayan. Its homeland is the mountainous regions of Myanmar, the Himalayas, China and some territories of the countries of Southeast Asia. This breed was introduced to Europe in the 18th century.
The plumage of black color with a metallic sheen and blue-purple tint has a male Nepalese pheasant. The head of an individual with a black tuft is covered with red feathers, and the legs are grayish in color and with spurs. The body length of an adult representative of the breed can reach 70 centimeters, the tail grows to 30 cm.
The plumage of a female Himalayan pheasant has a brown color with an olive shade. The body of the bird is up to 60 centimeters in size, and the tail is up to 30 cm.
Horned
The characteristics of the breed of horned pheasants or tragopans speak of rather large sizes of this breed and of bright plumage. In fact, all the beauty went only to males. They have more vibrant feather colors and have spectacular “earrings” on their throats. In appearance, males can understand why they were named that way. It's all about the conical growths in the eye area, which resemble horns in shape.
Tragopan in nature lives in the Himalayas and the southern mountainous part of China. The bird can be seen in nature reserves around the world.
