Birds
Silver Pheasant
Lophura nycthemera
IUCN Red ListLeast Concern
Silver Pheasant
- Description
- A striking medium-sized pheasant with strong sexual dimorphism. The male has glossy blue-black underparts and a long black crest, while his upperparts and long tail are white marked with fine black lines; a bright red facial patch and crimson legs complete the look. Males can reach around 120 cm in total length (tail up to 75 cm) and weigh roughly 1.1-2 kg, while the camouflaged olive-brown female is smaller and shorter-tailed.
- Habitat
- Native to the mountain forests of mainland Southeast Asia and southern and eastern China, including Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Hainan. It favours dense evergreen woodland and bamboo groves, typically at elevations between about 600 and 2,100 m.
- Diet
- An omnivorous ground-forager, it eats seeds, fruits, shoots and other plant matter, supplemented by insects and small invertebrates.
- Reproduction
- The hen lays a clutch of roughly 6-12 eggs in a nest hidden among vegetation, and incubation lasts about 23-25 days.
- Lifespan
- Around 5-8 years in the wild, and up to about 12 years under human care.
- Did you know?
- The male's contrasting silvery-white and blue-black plumage made this bird a prized ornamental species, and it is one of the parents of the naturally occurring hybrid known as the Imperial Pheasant.
Homeland & habitat
Where the silver pheasant lives
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Southeast Asia and southern ChinaThe silver pheasant inhabits dense montane and submontane forests of Southeast Asia and southern China, from Myanmar and Thailand to the southern Chinese provinces.
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Native range
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10 facts about the silver pheasant
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Conservation status
Species vulnerability index
Least Concern
Near Threatened
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically Endangered
LC – málo dotčený (Least Concern) podle IUCN – populace je stabilní.
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