Tenebrosus pheasant

Tenebrosus pheasant

Description

The tenebrosus pheasant is a dark, captive-bred form of the common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). The cock has iridescent green-black plumage with purple and blue highlights and lacks the white neck ring of the wild bird. The hen is much darker, a sooty brown. Including its long tail, the male reaches about 75–90 cm and weighs around 1–1.5 kg; the female is a little smaller.

Habitat

The common pheasant is native to Asia, ranging from the Caucasus across Central Asia to China. Introduced as a game and ornamental bird throughout Europe and North America, the dark tenebrosus form arose in European breeding stock. It favours fields, hedgerows, woodland edges and reed beds with dense cover.

Diet

An omnivore, it forages by scratching on the ground. It feeds on seeds, grain, berries, roots and green plant matter, supplemented with insects, worms and other small invertebrates.

Reproduction

A single cock mates with several hens. The hen lays 8–15 eggs in a shallow ground scrape and incubates them alone for about 23–27 days. The chicks are precocial and leave the nest soon after hatching.

Lifespan

In the wild, hunting and predators mean birds usually live only 1–3 years, but in human care they commonly reach ten years or more.

Did you know?

Tenebrosus is a melanistic colour mutation of the common pheasant — instead of the gaudy plumage and white neck ring, the cock shimmers in dark bottle-green all year round.