Lady Amherst's Pheasant Chrysolophus amherstiae
Lady Amherst's Pheasant, named after the wife of the first known person to bring the bird to the UK in 1828,
is native to south-eastern Tibet, northern Myanmar and south-western China.
The length of the tail is nearly three times that of the head and body - over a metre long.
Related to the Golden Pheasant, the Lady Amhersts' live in high altitude bamboo forests. So they can survive the wet and
cold of the UK where there is a small feral population.
The natural tail pattern is the barred one shown above, and with a green crown to the head.
The plainer female is very well camouflaged. She also has a long tail, just over her body length.
Those shown in the row above are hybrids with Golden Pheasant giving a red crown, longer red crest, a red belly
and a different tail pattern to the pure ones shown in the first row.
The tail pattern above and the full red crown are hybrids of Lady Amherst with the related Golden Pheasant.
The hybrid females are a little redder in tone from Golden Pheasant genes.
The male's sub-adult and non-breeding plumage looks like the female's. These are in transition back
to non-breeding plumage.
Links:
Golden Pheasant