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Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) Alternate name(s): "Ring-necked Pheasant" German name(s): "Jagdfasan", "Fasan" Size: 70-90 cm (male, incl. tail 35-45 cm); 55-70 cm (female, incl. tail 20-25 cm); wing span 70-90 cm Body mass: 1.0-1.75 kg (male); 0.75-1.2 kg (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 1.0-1.15 (male), 0.85-0.95 (female)

Europe: Family Group 1 Family Group 1 Table Red-legged Partridge Barbary Partridge Grey Partridge Common Quail Common Pheasant Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Common Pheasants are roughly chicken-sized birds with a very long tail. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Since Common Pheasants found in Europe are hybrids of the original races of the species, some variations may occur. Male Common Pheasants have a glossy greenish-black neck, throat, frons and crown. The sides of the head are dominated by conspicuous red skin patches around the eyes, from the base of the bill to the ear coverts. The males of the "torquatus" group of races have a white band around the middle of the long neck (those of the "colchicus" group don't), below which the body plumage is a heavily scalloped glossy brown. The belly, vent, flanks and rump are darker brown. The mantle is rich brown, with lighter grey-brown scalloping. The back is light-grey. The wing feathers, which are also largely glossy-brown, have various degrees of grey edge lining and some barring on the flight feathers. The very long tail is also barred light- and dark brown. Female Common Pheasants (called "hens") are much more inconspicuous than the males. Their plumage is highly cryptic, i.e. well-camouflaged. Their feathers (head, body and tail) are almost all mid-grey to grey-brown, with darker scalloping. The irises of both sexes are yellow. The bill is light-grey, the legs and feet are mid-grey. Juvenile birds are light- to mid-grey with darker grey-brown scalloping.

Taxonomy, classification See Pheasant at Wikipedia (or the German Fasan ).

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Pheasant is available HERE . Originally, Common Pheasants come from mid-latitude Asia. They have been introduced to Europe and North America. There is also a significant introduced population in northern New Zealand. Note that, although these days considered to be "part of the landscape", Common Pheasants have, in fact, been introduced to Europe in medieval times. These introduced birds tend to be hybrids of the naturally existing races of the species. Common Pheasants have colonised central and eastern Europe, from the British Isles to the western shore of the Black Sea, and from southern Scandinavia to the Pyrenees, Italy, the northern Balkans and around the northern side of the Black Sea. They are not found anywhere above an altitude of 1000 m. Common Pheasants have a preference for open grassland, pasture and fields, with some dense shrubs for cover.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports finding Common Pheasants occasionally near Mora, Evora, Portugal. D. Wilczynska reports spotting Common Pheasants in the area of Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, regularly. C. Pears reports finding Common Pheasants at Borrowdale, Lake District, Cumbria, UK, in March 2015, and again in September 2024. H. Dahlem-Senger reports finding Common Pheasants in various parts of Germany. Another was spotted on Texel, Noord Holland, Netherlands, in April 2014. A. Sarok spotted Common Pheasants in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024. In the past we used to see Common Pheasants semi-regularly in open country, in particularly in agricultural areas, in various parts of Germany.

Photos

Introduced hybrids

ADULT

PAIR

Near-lateral view of a pair of Common Pheasants (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Lake District, Cumbria, UK, March 2015]

Pair of Common Pheasants foraging in open grassland; male on the right, female on the left (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

Pair of Common Pheasants foraging in open grassland; male on the left, female on the right (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, May 2016]

MALE

Frontal portrait of a male Common Pheasant with its inner eyelids closed (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Spiekeroog, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Near-frontal portrait of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Spiekeroog, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Near-frontal view of a male Common Pheasant of the "torquatus" group; note the white neck band
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Pheasant posturing to issue its call (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Near-lateral view of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Spiekeroog, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Lateral portrait of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2021]

Close-up lateral view of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Close-up lateral view of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of J. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Cumberland, England, September 2024]

Lateral view of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2021]

Lateral view of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2021]

Lateral view of a male Common Pheasant on a wheat field (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Lateral view of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Lake District, Cumbria, UK, March 2015]

Lateral view of a resting male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Spiekeroog, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Dorsal view of a male Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Texel, Netherlands, April 2014]

Dorsal view of a male Common Pheasant flapping its wings (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

FEMALE

Close-up lateral view of a female Common Pheasant looking towards the observer
(photo courtesy of J. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Cumberland, England, September 2024]

Close-up lateral view of a female Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of J. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Cumberland, England, September 2024]

Close-up lateral view of a preening female Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of J. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Cumberland, England, September 2024]

Pair of Common Pheasants foraging in open grassland; male on the right, female on the left (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, Masovia, Poland, July 2016]

Dorsal view of a female Common Pheasant (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, Masovia, Poland, July 2016]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Common Pheasant moulting into its first adult plumage (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a male Common Pheasant moulting into its first adult plumage, with a female behind
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, September 2016]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Covey

Common Pheasants can congregate in significant numbers (photo courtesy of J. Pears)
[Borrowdale, Cumberland, England, September 2024]

Food, Diet

Male Common Pheasant feeding on wheat grains that have not germinated (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Male Common Pheasant feeding on wheat grains that have not germinated (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

phesant_dw_20160613.m4a	(Poland)	Male territorial call(?)	© DW
phesant_dw_20200531.m4a	(Poland)	Alarm calls (male)	© DW

More Common Pheasant sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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