The common pheasant, ring-necked pheasant, or blue-headed pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin phasianus 'pheasant'. The species name colchicus is Latin for 'of Colchis', a country on the Black Sea where pheasants became known to Europeans. Although Phasianus was previously thought to be closely related to the genus Gallus, the genus of junglefowl and domesticated chickens, recent studies show that they are in different subfamilies, having diverged over 20 million years ago.
Region
Temperate Eurasia
Typical Environment
Native from the Black Sea and Caucasus across Central Asia to northeastern China, with extensive introductions throughout Europe, North America, New Zealand, and parts of South America. It favors agricultural mosaics with hedgerows, grasslands, and scattered woodland edges. Dense interior forests and arid deserts are generally avoided. In introduced ranges, it thrives in managed farmlands and shooting estates where cover crops and supplemental feed are available.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 3/5
The common pheasant is one of the world’s most widely introduced gamebirds and is familiar across farmlands and estates. Males are strikingly colorful with a variable white neck ring, while females are cryptically patterned for camouflage. They are strong runners that prefer to flush in short, explosive flights when disturbed. Many regional subspecies and releases have produced great plumage variation in introduced populations.
Male of hybrid stock in PolandNote thin white neck-band due to a ring-necked subspecies' contribution to hybrid gene pool
Flavistic hen
Phasianus colchicus egg at MHNT
Skeleton MHNT
Hybrid male in Europe, intermediate between Mongolian ringneck and Caucasus group phenotype
Chinese ringneck-type male (note grey rump) with very pale female, illustrating the dramatic difference in both colour and size between sexes as per sexual dimorphism
Just hatched, in an egg incubator
Chicks about one hour after hatching
Although a non-indigenous species, the common pheasant is farmed even in conservation areas, as seen here in Litovelské Pomoraví Protected Landscape Area in the Czech Republic.
Introduced male and female foraging at the Newport Wetlands RSPB Nature Reserve in the United Kingdom
A startled male makes a dash for cover
A close up of the head and body of a common pheasant
For sale at Borough Market, London
Field line English Cocker Spaniel has brought in the quarry
![Collisions between pheasants and road vehicles are common in the UK.[71]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/PheasantImpact2.jpg/960px-PheasantImpact2.jpg)
Collisions between pheasants and road vehicles are common in the UK.[71]
Temperament
wary but moderately social
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats followed by brief glides
Social Behavior
Outside the breeding season they form loose flocks, often segregated by sex. During spring, males defend territories and may maintain harems of several females. Nests are shallow scrapes on the ground concealed in grass or hedgerows, with the female solely incubating and rearing the brood.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
The male gives a loud, harsh two-syllable crowing call, often accompanied by a wing-whirring display. Alarm calls are sharp, clucking notes, while contact calls are softer and more guttural.
