Did you know that there are over 29 breeds of pheasants in the world? And did you know that the United kingdom’s common pheasant originated from Asia?
Fig 1.
Well, there certainly are many different types of pheasants on planet Earth.
Here in the United Kingdom, our common pheasant is a truly colourful bird. Originating from Asia, this bird was introduced into the UK by the Romans primarily for hunting. Nowadays, this pheasant is classed as a game bird and has actually become the most hunted bird in the world. Commonly found on game farms this pheasant is now bred commercially for sport, by gamekeepers.
There are in fact many different types of pheasants but the common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is the most well known. It lives mainly within Europe but has been spotted in locations all over the world.
Pheasants are known to be very intelligent and hyper-sensitive animals. Some experts suggest that these birds are able to identify when an earthquake or tremor is likely to occur, within seconds of it happening!
Below are images of the 29 breeds of pheasants that can be found around our planet. (The country within which each can be found, is also identified)
Fig. 2
Pheasants as National Birds
Fig. 3
Whilst the Robin is considered the national bird for the UK and the Bald Eagle the same for the United States, the pheasant is a respected bird that is much loved by many different nations around the globe. (Incidentally, a National Bird is defined as a bird that has been chosen by a country as one of it’s symbols or as an emblem)
Interestingly, Japan adopted the green pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) as it’s national bird. In the past, for example, the green pheasant was printed on the Japanese 10,000 Yen bank note. Similarly, Myanmar in Burma adopted the Grey Peacock Pheasant as its national bird.
So, it would appear that the pheasant has always been – and remains – a very popular bird throughout the world. Next time you see one, perhaps take a little time to fully appreciate it’s magnificant colours!
Image Sources:
Fig.1: By David Croad – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6382265
Fig. 2: Green Pheasant – By Kuribo – originally posted to Flickr as Green Pheasant, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8952567
Blood Pheasant – By John Gould (A Century of Birds from the Himalayas (1830-32)) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BloodPheasantGouldRichter.jpg
Koklass pheasant – By John Gould, Henry Constantine Richter – John Gould: “The Birds of Asia”, vol. 7 pl. 26, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2400553
Kalij Pheasant – By Jsgladden at English Wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AKalij-pheasant_Hawaii.jpg
Silver Pheasant – By No machine-readable author provided. Stavenn assumed (based on copyright claims). – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1284217
Edwards Pheasant – By Subhumanfreak at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6984538
Viatnamese Pheasants – By Glen Bowman from Newcastle, England – Vietnamese Pheasants (Lopura hatinhensis) – Camperdown Wildlife Centre, Dundee, Angus, ScotlandUploaded by snowmanradio, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18692113
Swinhoe’s Pheasant – By Alnus – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14539211
Salvador’s Pheasant – By frank wouters – Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3686128
Crestless Fireback – By I, KENPEI, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4178424
Crested Fireback – By Eva Hejda http://fotos.naturspot.de/, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=238324
Siamese Fireback – By Rushenb – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37183738
Bulwer’s Pheasant – By frank wouters from antwerpen, belgium , België , Belgique – lophura bulweri (edited), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3618942
White Eared Pheasant – CC BY-SA 1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72375
Tibetan Eared Pheasant – By John Gerrard Keulemans – The Ibis, ser. 4, vol. 5, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16176920
Brown Eared Pheasant – By Somongkol Teng from Minneapolis, United States of America – PheasantUploaded by Snowmanradio, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13319205
Blue Eared Pheasant – By No machine-readable author provided. Stavenn assumed (based on copyright claims). – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1836447
Cheer Pheasant – By Kuribo – originally posted to Flickr as Cheer pheasant, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8831106
Reeves Pheasant – By No machine-readable author provided. Stavenn assumed (based on copyright claims). – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1174275
Elliots Pheasant – By User Snowyowls on zh.wikipedia – Originally from zh.wikipedia; https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=804555
Mrs Humes Pheasant – Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1932376
Mikado Pheasant – By Snowyowls (photographer) / Jako (uploader) – own work (by Snowyowls) from zh wiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5566120
Copper Pheasant – By Stavenn – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5697765
Golden Pheasant – By Bjørn Christian Tørrissen – Own work by uploader, http://bjornfree.com/galleries.html, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18699518
Lady Amherst’s Pheasant – By Sylfred1977 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7594523
Bronze Tailed Peacock – CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1949247
Mountain Peacock Pheasant – By Stavenn at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14877322
Common Pheasant – By gary noon – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4077294
Fig. 3: By Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK (Grey Peacock Pheasant 1 Uploaded by Snowmanradio) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
