Japanese green pheasant
The Green pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) is an omnivorous bird found only in the Japanese archipelago. It is the national bird of Japan and plays an important role in local culture.
The male Southern green pheasant, P. v. versicolor, has dark green plumage on the breast, neck, mantle, and flanks. The male also has a bluish-purplish hood with clear ear tufts, red wattles, and a long, pale grey-banded tail. The female is smaller than the male, with a shorter tail, and has brownish-black colored plumage, with dark brown feathers fringed pale brown. The males of this subspecies have the darkest plumage, which is mainly green. The male Pacific green pheasant, P. v. tamensis, has lighter plumage than the nominate subspecies. Its feathers are more purple and blue. The male Northern green pheasant, P. v. robustipes, has the lightest plumage and its crown and mantle are more bronze than those of the other subspecies. The females of all three subspecies look much more similar, though, like with the males, the females of P. v. versicolor normally have the darkest plumage, and the females of P. v. robustipes have the lightest.
Green pheasants are found throughout Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu as well as some smaller islands. They live in woodlands and forest edges, brush, grassland, parkland, and often frequent farmlands and human settlements.
Little is known about the behavior of Green pheasants. They spend most of their time on the ground and are fast flyers, especially when feeling threatened. They feed during the daylight hours and are usually seen singly, in pairs, or in small groups.
Green pheasants are omnivorous birds. They eat small animals, such as worms and insects, grains and plants.
The Breeding season of Green pheasants starts during March or April and ends in June. Females lay one clutch of between 6 and 15 eggs and incubate them for 23 to 25 days. Young pheasants can first breed when they are about one year old.
There are no major threats to this species at present.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Green pheasant total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are decreasing.