Pheasants are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia. The classification "pheasant" is paraphyletic, as birds referred to as pheasants are included within both the subfamilies Phasianinae and Pavoninae, and in many cases are more closely related to smaller phasianids, grouse, and turkey than to other pheasants.
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini, a classification supported by mitochondrial DNA sequence studies, and applied by the American Ornithologists' Union, ITIS, International Ornithological Congress, and others.
Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often reared by humans for their meat and eggs, or hunted as game birds.
The Taiwan blue magpie, also called the Taiwan magpie, Formosan blue magpie, or the "long-tailed mountain lady", is a bird species in the crow family. It is endemic to Taiwan.
The golden pheasant, also known as the Chinese pheasant, and rainbow pheasant, is a gamebird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae (pheasants). The genus name is from Ancient Greek khrusolophos, "with golden crest", and pictus is Latin for "painted" from pingere, "to paint".
The white eared pheasant, also known as Dolan’s eared pheasant or Bee's pheasant, is a species of "eared pheasant" that get its name because its colouration is white and has the prominent ear tufts of the genus, not because it has white ears. The indigenous people of Himalaya call it shagga, meaning snow fowl. This gregarious bird lives in large flocks, foraging on alpine meadows close to or above the snowline throughout the year. C. crossoptilon is found in China, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet, where it tends to inhabit mixed forests and can be found around Buddhist monasteries.
The blood pheasant or blood partridge is the only species in genus Ithaginis of the pheasant family. It is a relatively small, short-tailed pheasant that is widespread and is fairly common in eastern Himalayas, ranging across India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and northern Myanmar. Since the trend of the population appears to be slowly decreasing, the species has been evaluated as of least concern on the IUCN Red List in 2009.
The koklass pheasant is a species of gamebird, being closely related to progenitive grouse that lived during the Miocene. They are distantly related to pheasants and are most closely related to grouse and turkeys. Koklass are the only species in the monotypic genus Pucrasia. Both the words koklass and pucrasia have been onomatopœically derived from the bird's territorial call.
Edwards's pheasant is a bird of the pheasant family Phasianidae and is endemic to the seasonal tropical forests of central Vietnam. It is named after the French ornithologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards and first described to science in 1896. The bird's length is 58–65 centimetres (23–26 in) and has red legs and facial skin. The male is mainly blue-black with a crest, and the female is a drab brown bird. The alarm call is a puk!-puk!-puk!.
The great argus is a large species of pheasant from Southeast Asia. It is known for its impressive plumage and courtship behavior. It is not to be confused with the two species of closely related crested argus, genus Rheinardia.
Crested arguses are large and spectacular peafowl-like birds in the genus Rheinardia of the pheasant family.
Reeves's pheasant is a large pheasant within the genus Syrmaticus. It is endemic to China. It is named after the British naturalist John Reeves, who first introduced live specimens to Europe in 1831.
The genus Syrmaticus contains the five species of long-tailed pheasants. The males have short spurs and usually red facial wattles, but otherwise differ wildly in appearance. The hens (females) and chicks of all the species have a rather conservative and plesiomorphic drab brown color pattern. 5 species are generally accepted in this genus.
Germain's peacock-pheasant is a pheasant that is endemic to Indochina. The name commemorates the French colonial army's veterinary surgeon Louis Rodolphe Germain.
Mrs. Hume's pheasant, also known as Hume's pheasant or the bar-tailed pheasant, is a large, up to 90 cm (35 in) long, forest pheasant with a greyish brown head, bare red facial skin, chestnut brown plumage, yellowish bill, brownish orange iris, white wingbars and metallic blue neck feathers. The male has a long greyish white, barred black and brown tail. The female is a chestnut brown bird with whitish throat, buff color belly and white-tipped tail.
The Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests is an ecoregion that covers most of the island of Taiwan, with the exception of the southern tip of the island, which constitutes the South Taiwan monsoon rain forests ecoregion. The island's concentrated steep mountains host a range of forest types, from subtropical forests in the lowlands to temperate and alpine or montane forests.
Swinhoe's pheasant, also known as the Taiwan blue pheasant, is a bird of the pheasant subfamily in the fowl family Phasianidae. It is endemic to Taiwan. Along with the Mikado pheasant and Taiwan blue magpie, two other Taiwan endemics, Swinhoe's pheasant is sometimes considered an unofficial national symbol for Taiwan, as it bears the colours of the national flag.
The Taiwan partridge or Taiwan hill partridge is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in Taiwan, and its natural habitat is broadleaf forests. It is threatened by habitat loss, but at present is categorised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being of least concern.
Walter Goodfellow (1866–1953) was a British zoological collector and ornithologist.
