Common Pheasant - Phasianus colchicus

Common Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

Order : Galliformes

Family : Phasianidae ;

Biometrics :

Size : 53 à 89 cm
Wingspan : 70 à 90 cm
Weight : Femelle : 900 à 1050 g ; Mâle : 1050 à 1400 g

Longevity : 8 years

IUCN conservation status :

Extinct

Threatened

Least
concern

Extinc
in the Wild

Near
threatened

Not
evaluated

EX EW CR EN VU NT LC NE

Geographic range :

Synonyms : Fazan (ru), Fasan (sv), Faisán vulgar (es), Fagiano comune (it), Fasan (al), Fazant (nl), Common Pheasant (en)

Physical description :
Common Pheasant adult male (or cock) has rich chestnut plumage, with golden-brown, black and pale blue markings on body. Very long tail is golden-brown barred with black. Lower back varies from chestnut, to pale blue and purple.
Underparts are golden-chestnut with dark markings. Vent and undertail coverts are dark chestnut.
Head is separated from the body by an almost complete white collar. Head and neck are deep green with dark blue iridescences. A greenish-grey glossy patch covers the top of the head, tapering to a point on the nape.
Face shows red facial wattles and green tufted 'ears'. Strong bill is whitish. Eyes are golden. Legs and feet are dark grey.
Female is smaller, with shorter tail and sandy colours. She has paler brown plumage, mottled dark brown and black. Underparts are sandy white, slightly scaled on throat and breast with pale brown. Eyes are dull yellow. Bill is two tones, whitish and blackish.
Juvenile resembles adult female, but smaller, with shorter tail.

We have a great variety of sub-species at this time in Europe, between others:
Phasianus colchicus torquatus, coming from eastern Chine;
Phasianus colchicus colchicus, coming from Transcaucasia and east and southeast of Black Sea;
And a great diversity of typical and dusky forms (melanistic).
Melanistic forms are the result of bred with the green Phasianus versicolor from Japan.

Voice :
Sound from CD 'Tous les Oiseaux d'Europe' by Jean C. Roché by courtesy of Sittelle and CEBA. Common Pheasant male gives a crowing advertising call, a harsh, scraping 'ko-KOK', while head is pointed upwards. It may perform at the same time a brief whir of wings in spring. When suddenly flushed, both male and female utter a rapid, harsh 'kuk-uk, kuk-uk, kuk-uk, kuk-uk'.

Habitat : Common Pheasant lives in farmlands, open lands with shrubby cover, woodland edges, open woodlands, from lowlands to mountain foothills.
GEOGRAPHIC RANGE: Common Pheasant is native to India, Southeast Asia and China. Species have been introduced elsewhere, and they are bred to be hunted in great numbers. Common Pheasant is a game bird in all parts of the world where it is living. This species is resident in its range.

Behaviour : In its native areas, Common Pheasant lives in open forests or meadows. But this opportunistic bird feeding on various seeds, fruits and insects is now well adapted to other habitats, such as cultivated areas. It has stout bill and strong legs with four-toed clawed feet, adapted to scratch for food in the ground. Male may have spurs, used for dominance when they fight.
Male is polygynous. Its beautiful plumage attracts females, and it may have up to 18 in one harem. Females feed with territorial male for up to six weeks, in order to build up fat reserves for nesting. Male is vigilant over females, protecting then from predators and other males.
During courtship displays, male runs around each female with near wing trailing on the ground, twisting over its tail, and inflating its facial wattles in order to expose its finery. Once females start to incubate, male ignores them.
But its colours attract the predators too, such as foxes and stoats, whereas female and young are protected by their dull plumage.
If it is alarmed, Common Pheasant prefers to run rather to fly from danger. It roosts in trees at night.

Flight : Common Pheasant can fly swiftly, but it is not able to sustain the flight over long distances. They have short rounded wings and long pointed tails, very conspicuous in flight. Its take-off is noisy.
Their flight speed is 27 to 38 mph, but they can fly up to 60 mph when chased.

Reproduction-nesting : Nesting period occurs from March to August, with a peak in April-June.
Common Pheasant's nest is a shallow scratched-out depression of twigs, grass and rootlets. It is lined with grass or leaves, and usually well hidden into vegetation, giving it a domed appearance.
Female lays about 8 to 14 olive-brown eggs. Incubation lasts about 22 to 25 days, by female alone. Chicks are precocial, and leave the nest immediately. They are able to perform short flights at 12 to 14 days of age, but they are dependent on insect food in the first two weeks after hatching. They fledge at about 8 to 11 weeks.
This species produces one brood per season.

Food habits : Common Pheasant feeds on cereal grains, seeds, buds, leaves, fruits and some invertebrates.

Protection / threats : Common Pheasant is the most widespread and common pheasant in the world. Millions of birds are reared each year in Europe and North America for release in sport hunting.
However, at least 15 species of pheasants are endangered and threatened by both overhunting and habitat loss.

Other links :
Iucn
Birdlife

Specification sheet created by Nicole Bouglouan

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