From Opus
Alternative name: Ring-necked Pheasant
Phasianus colchicus
[edit ] Identification 50-90 cm
The long tail, often accounting for half the total length Male
Barred bright brown plumage with green, purple and white markings
White ring around the neck
Green head with red patches Female - duller mottled brown plumage
[edit ] Distribution Asia . Introduced elsewhere.
[edit ] Taxonomy [edit ] Subspecies There are 31 subspecies[1]
P. c. septentrionalis : Northern Caucasus
P. c. colchicus : Eastern Georgia to north-eastern Azerbaijan , southern Armenia and north-western Iran
P. c. talischensis : South-eastern Transcaucasia
P. c. persicus : South-western Transcaspia
P. c. bergii : Islands in Aral Sea
P. c. turcestanicus : Kazakstan (Valley of River Syrdar'ya)
P. c. mongolicus : North-eastern Russian Turkestan
P. c. principalis : Southern Russian Turkestan and northern Afghanistan
P. c. chrysomelas : Turkestan (upper River Amudar'ya)
P. c. zerafschanicus : Southern Uzbekistan (Bukhara and Zerafshan Valley)
P. c. zarudnyi : Turkestan (valleys of central Amudar'ya)
P. c. bianchii : Turkestan (Amudar'ya delta)
P. c. shawii : Chinese Turkestan
P. c. tarimensis : East-central Chinese Turkestan
P. c. hagenbecki : North-western Mongolia
P. c. edzinensis : South-central Mongolia
P. c. satschuensis : North-central China (extreme western Gansu)
P. c. vlangallii : North-central China (northern Qinghai)
P. c. alashanicus : North-central China (foothills of Alaschan Mountains)
P. c. sohokhotensis : North-central China (Sohokhoto Oasis and Qilian Shan)
P. c. pallasi : South-eastern Siberia and north-eastern China
P. c. karpowi : North-eastern China (southern Manchuria and northern Liaoning) to Korea
P. c. kiangsuensis : North-eastern China (northern Shanxi and Shaanxi) to south-eastern Mongolia
P. c. strauchi : Central China (southern Shaanxi and southern Gansu)
P. c. suehschanensis : West-central China (north-western Sichuan)
P. c. elegans : West-central China (western Sichuan)
P. c. decollatus : Central China (Sichuan to Liaoning, north-eastern Yunnan and Guizhou)
P. c. torquatus : Eastern China (Shandong) to Vietnam border
P. c. rothschildi : South-western China (eastern Yunnan) and northern Vietnam
P. c. takatsukasae : Southern China and northern Vietnam
P. c. formosanus : Taiwan
Green Pheasant from Japan is sometimes included in this species.
[edit ] Habitat Woodland and scrub.
[edit ] Behaviour Ground feeders. The diet includes grain, leaves and invertebrates.
[edit ] Breeding They roost in trees. They nest on the ground; about 10 eggs are laid over a period of 14-21 days in April-June. The eggs are incubated for 23-26 days.
[edit ] Vocalisation Listen in an external program [edit ] References Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World . 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019 . Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
New World Encyclopaedia
Animal Pictures Archive
[edit ] External Links
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