Reeves's Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) | Photos, Calls and ID

VUVulnerablePlants

WoodlandPlatform nestLarge · 1.2 kg

What the Reeves's Pheasant sounds like

Sonogram of the Reeves's Pheasant: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Camille Vacher · Call · Arrondissement de Lille (near Cysoing), Nord, Hauts-de-France, France · CC BY 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

Males measure 210 cm (83 in) long and weigh 1,529 g (3.371 lb). The male is brightly plumaged with a scaled golden white and red body plumage, grey legs, brown iris and bare red skin around the eye. The head is white with a black narrow band across its eyes. The male has an extremely long silvery white tail barred with chestnut brown. This pheasant is mentioned in the 2008 edition of Guinness World Records for having the longest natural tail feather of any bird species; a record formerly held by the crested argus pheasant. The tail can measure up to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) long.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Reeves's Pheasant

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 11 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Reeves's Pheasant

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 6 countries with regular records, and 6 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

France China Czechia Italy Denmark Austria

Recorded as a rare visitor in Belgium, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, United States, Switzerland.

About the Reeves's Pheasant

Reeves's pheasant is a large pheasant within the genus Syrmaticus. It is endemic to China. It is named after the British naturalist John Reeves, who first introduced live specimens to Europe in 1831.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Mikado PheasantSyrmaticus mikadoWith the tail included, males of this species get to be up to 70 cm in body length, while the smaller females measure up to 47 cm.

Mrs. Hume's PheasantSyrmaticus humiaeThe pheasant is up to 90 cm (35 in) long with a greyish brown head, bare red facial skin, chestnut brown plumage, yellowish bill, brownish orange iris, white wingbars and metallic blue neck feathers.

Copper PheasantSyrmaticus soemmerringiiIt is a large pheasant with a rich coppery chestnut plumage, yellowish bill, brown iris, and red facial skin.

Learn the Reeves's Pheasant in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Every photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.