Derivation
Pha-si-a'-nus - L., phasis, pheasant: col-chi-cus - N.L., of Colchis (now Georgia), land bounded on the west by the Black Sea on the north by the Caucasus and on the east by Iberia
Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) [XC792839]
by Romuald Mikusek from King's Lynn and West Norfolk District (near Leziate), Norfolk, England, United Kingdom (call)
Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) [XC895031]
by Martin Billard from Pont Cavalier (near Saint-Pierre-du-Jonquet), Calvados, Normandy, France (song)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Late July - late March, but mainly September - December.
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Nest
A depression in the ground, sparsely lined with leaves, often beneath thick vegatation.
Eggs (Guide)
Up to 17, but usually 8 - 14; smooth, lustrous, cream or pale brown; oval; about 44 x 35 mm. Incubation: about 23 - 24 days; by female.
Young
Precocial, nidifugous.
Subspecies
Sometimes considered conspecific with Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor), which is thus relegated to subspecies level. However, the two are not now generally regarded as conspecific, because present species, when introduced to Japan, is apparently unable to survive, presumably due to competition with Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor), and failure to hybridize successfully. Nevertheless, they hybridize extensively where both introduced in Hawaii. Internal taxonomy of species requires extensive revision. Populations of eastern Asia sometimes considered to constitute a separate species, Phasianus torquatus. Subspecies currently accepted can be split into five or six groups, which may be a better guide to geographical variation.
Australian releases appear to be hybrids.
The following 34 subspecies are recognised:
septentrionalis Lorenz, T, 1889 - Northern Caucasus.
colchicus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Transcaucasia, in eastern Georgia, north-eastern Azerbaijan, southern Armenia and north-western Iran.
satscheuensis Pleske, 1892 - North-central China (extreme western Gansu).
vlangallii Przevalski, 1876 - North-central China (northern Qinghai).
alaschanicus Alphéraky & Bianchi, 1908 - North-central China (western foothills of Helan Shan).
sohokhotensis Buturlin, 1908 - North-central China (Sohokhoto Oasis in Helan Shan; possibly also this race in Qilian Shan).
pallasi Rothschild, 1903 - South-eastern Siberia and north-eastern China.
karpowi Buturlin, 1904 - North-eastern China (southern Manchuria and northern Hebei) and Korea.
kiangsuensis Buturlin, 1904 - North-eastern China (northern Shanxi and Shaanxi) and south-eastern Mongolia.
strauchi Przewalski, 1876 - Central China (southern Shaanxi and southern & central Gansu).
suehschanensis Bianchi, 1906 - West-central China (north-western Sichuan).
elegans Elliot, DG, 1870 - West-central China (western Sichuan).
decollatus Swinhoe, 1870 - Central China (Sichuan east to western Hubei and south to north-eastern Yunnan and Guizhou).
torquatus Gmelin, JF, 1789 - Eastern China (Shandong south to China Vietnam border).
rothschildi La Touche, 1922 - South-central China (eastern Yunnan) and northern Vietnam.
takatsukasae Delacour, 1927 - Southern China (southern Guangxi) and northern Vietnam.
formosanus Elliot, DG, 1870 - Taiwan.
versicolor Vieillot, 1825 - South-western Honshu and Kyushu, Japan. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor).
tanensis Nagamichi Kuroda, 1919 - East-central Honshu (Izu and Miura Peninsulas) and nearby Izu Is, and Tanega shima and Yaku shima (off southern Kyushu), Japan. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor).
robustipes Nagamichi Kuroda, 1919 - Sado and most of Honshu, Japan. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor).
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet