PHEASANT, the bird, according to legend, introduced by the Argonauts into Europe from the banks of the Phasis (now Rion) in Colchis. Its introduction into England has been attri buted, as in the case of so many other species (e.g., the fallow deer, the edible snail, and the Roman nettle). to the Romans. but with little foundation. This bird. Phasianus colchicus, is the type of the family Phasianidae, and is reared in England for shooting (see SHOOTING). It is distributed in a wild state from the Caspian Sea all over south-east Europe. The male is a handsome bird with brilliant plumage and red wattles; the female protectively coloured in mottled brown. The wings are short ; the tail is long.
The birds are polygamous ; they feed on grain, seeds, shoots, and insects and both fly and run well.
The nest is on the ground and II or 12 olive-brown eggs are laid. Pheasants will cross with numer ous other gallinaceous birds, in cluding the common fowl ; the offspring in this case is called a Pero. The British pheasants have in their blood a mixture of two Chinese species, with white neckrings. This mixture, as well as the pure-bred bird, has been introduced into various parts of U.S.A. and Canada. Reeve's
pheasant (P. reevesi) from northern China has a very long tail. The golden pheasant (Chryso/ophus pictus), Amherst's pheasant (C. amherstiae) and the silver pheasants (Gennaeus spp.) are even more beautiful. They are all Chinese birds and are well known in aviaries. The lovely Argus pheasants (Argusianus) of Malacca and Siam may measure 6f t. from the beak to the tail in the male ; the secondaries of the wings (which are longer than the primaries) have metallic spots resembling eyes. The monals (Lophophorus) inhabit the Himalayas. The peacock pheasants (Chalcurus and Polyplectron) inhabit Burma, Siam, Indo-China, and the Malay region ; the plumage is ornamented with metallic eyespots. The adornments of male pheasants are strikingly dis played in courtship. (See COURTSHIP OF ANIMALS.) The so-called Bohemian pheasant is a very rare variety.
See Tegetmeier, Pheasants; their Natural History and Practical Management; Beebe, Monograph of the Phasianidae (1918-22).