There are many types of pheasants. Each breed has not only external differences, impressive with a variety of colors of plumage, but also its own purpose. Birds are bred for both decorative and culinary purposes. You can understand the features of each species, learn about their behavior and habitats, see how representatives of various breeds of pheasants look in the photo in our article.
General information
Pheasants are representatives of chickens. These wonderful birds have bright external data, which is why they often become guests of home aviaries or zoos, like peacocks and parrots known to all of us. However, many species cannot adapt to life in a cage, so their habitat must 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.
The domestication of this chicken bird is not only for aesthetic pleasure. An important feature and value of the pheasant isits nutritious meat, which belongs to the category of dietary delicacies. The same can be said about eggs, which contain many different vitamins and minerals, as well as getting rid of a lot of cholesterol.
Almost all types of pheasant are small in size, their weight may not exceed one and a half kilograms. Males differ in body size and brightness of plumage, and females prefer to be in the shade. Their feathers are greyish and sandy.
Mostly in the wild, pheasants live in forests, in reed thickets, in fields, in bushy areas. They have received territorial distribution in Western Asia (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan) and Central Asia (Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), as well as in China, India and Japan. For cultivation brought to North America and a number of 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.
Let's consider the main types of pheasants.
Regular
The 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 keeping an ordinary pheasant is its tasty meat. This bird has rich and bright external data. Particularly noteworthy is its long tail with a brilliant silvery plumage. The bird's neck is adorned with green feathers with red edging around the eyes.
In the wild, this breed of pheasant is found on the plainsterritories and near water bodies where there are thickets of reeds and cattails.
Gold
This species is widely distributed in the west and south of China, as well as in several regions of Central Asia. It is found in the Amur and Trans-Baikal 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 present on the abdominal and lower parts of the body. 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 small weight, the golden pheasant is not of interest to the farm. However, he unusually adorns nature. A 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 spot it, as this bird is incredibly shy.
Argus
It is difficult to find ordinary words to describe a breed of pheasants 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 gray-green feathers, the eyes have a golden hue. Argus is a relatively large pheasant. The length of its body can reach 50 cm. A distinctive feature of this individual is its luxurious tail, the rounded feathers of which are similar to peacocks. Its length can be one and a half meters inlength.
Exotic bird easily endures climate change. Argus is native to Southeast Asia. Today, this bird can be seen in many zoos around the world.
Royal
The name of the pheasant breed speaks for itself. This species, which is native to the mountainous regions of northern China, is an ornamental bird. "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 plumage color of the body of the male royal pheasant is yellow. The bird has a snow-white head and a white neck underlined by black feathers. The female can "boast" of a muted color containing calm brown tones with yellow splashes. The length of the tail of royal birds can reach one meter.
Mirror
This representative of the detachment received such an unusual name due to the originality of the plumage color. The body of the male is silver, while the female is brown. A characteristic feature in the color palette lies in unusual spots. On the back and on the wings of both sexes of this pheasant, peculiar "eyes" shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow. The effect of bright colors 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. Breedingbreeds of the mirror pheasant are occupied in the territories of private farms. They are raised as pets. Mirror pheasants perfectly adapt 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 an Indian general. It was thanks to him that the existence of the diamond variety was learned in Europe. The homeland of this breed of pheasants are the hilly territories of the provinces of China, Tibet and other mountainous regions. Representatives of this species prefer to live on higher ground.
The back and chest of the diamond pheasant is painted dark green, the belly has white plumage. The neck and tail are also covered with snow-white feathers, alternating with black. The body of a representative of this breed reaches a length of one and a half meters. The tail does not exceed one meter.
Hunter
This breed of pheasant was bred by crossing two varieties. This species is now small, but it has a large number of diverse subspecies. Thanks to hunting pheasants, many unusual and beautiful populations have come into being. Hence the richest variety of color options for birds - from snow-white to ink-black. Color saturation may vary depending on the sex of the individual. The standard weight of a pheasant of this breed is two kilograms. This species is bred in the USA and European countries. It is very popular among gastronomicgourmet.
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 raised for meat and eggs.
The color palette of the plumage of this beautiful breed of pheasant on its chest and neck is dominated by all shades of green. The head is decorated with dark red feathers, and the wings are blue and brown.
On average, a male Japanese pheasant can reach a weight of one kilogram, and a female - seven hundred grams. The length of the body 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 varied. The head has a red plumage and a black crest, and the lower part of the body has blue patches. Feathers of females are 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 pheasant grows up to one meter in length, and his tail - up to 70 centimeters. The females are much smaller. Their body is never more than 70 centimeters long.
The silver pheasant is widely used in southern China. Living in shrubs and bamboo thickets, representatives of this breed prefer mountainous terrain (600-1200 meters above sea level).
Lemon
This breed of pheasant wasproduced artificially. Representatives of the golden pheasant played a special role in obtaining this species. The size of an adult male usually exceeds one meter. The female is smaller by 30-50 centimeters. In the wild, this pheasant lives in Central China. It can also be found in many European countries.
The plumage color of the lemon pheasant is predominantly bright yellow. In females, the color is less saturated.
White
The name of this breed suggests that the main color in the color of birds are white tones. "Snow" feathers cover the chest and back, a black "cap" flaunts on the head of the individual. Also, black color is present in the color of the edge of the tail and wings. This bird is called the long-eared pheasant, although no ears are visible on its head.
The white pheasant is a fairly rare breed. Outside the aviary, this bird is not so easy to meet. Their homeland is the outskirts of Tibet. However, life in a cage for this pheasant also proceeds calmly. The bird adapts well to the climatic conditions of different territories. It should be said that representatives of the breed may have feathers on the whole body, including the tail, completely white. A characteristic feature of birds is the red edging around the eyes.
Nepali
This decorative breed of pheasant is also called Himalayan. Its homeland is the mountainous regions of Myanmar, the Himalayas, China and some territories of the states of Southeast Asia. This breed was brought to Europe in the 18th century.
Plumage black with metallica male Nepalese pheasant has a brilliance and a blue-lilac tint. The head of an individual with a black crest is covered with red feathers, and the paws are grayish in color and with spurs. The body length of an adult representative of the breed can reach 70 centimeters, the tail grows up to 30 cm.
The plumage of a female Himalayan pheasant has a brown color with an olive tint. The body of the bird is up to 60 centimeters in size, and the tail is up to 30 cm.
Horned
Characteristic of the breed of horned pheasants or tragopans says about the rather large size of this breed and bright plumage. In fact, all the beauty went only to males. Their feather colors are richer, and there are spectacular "earrings" on the throat. By the appearance of the males, you can understand why they were called that. It's all about the cone-shaped growths in the eye area, which are shaped like horns.
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.
Pile
Another name for this species is Taiwanese pheasant. It lives mainly in the countries of Southeast Asia. In addition to aesthetic purposes, this breed is kept for eggs and meat. This is an extremely shy bird, one of the few representatives of the detachment, hiding and spending the night in the trees. Males lead the life of hermits. It is almost impossible to meet them in pairs. Females stay in small flocks. Only during the mating season, male Taiwanese pheasants begin to seek society (of course, they need ladies for whom they arrange real "tournaments").
The amazing color of the bird leaves no one indifferent. The male has lilac plumage on the neck, breast and on the front of the tail. On the back there is a large white spot with a red border. Pile's head is coral hue. The feathers of the female are brown or dirty red, which allows her to perfectly camouflage in the thickets.
The male Taiwanese pheasant grows up to 80 centimeters in length. The female is about twice as small. Representatives of this breed feel good in conditions of limited space, which is very convenient for their breeding in captivity.
