Green Pheasant Phasianus versicolor Scientific name definitions

A medium-sized, long-tailed pheasant, with unmistakable dark green body and bright red face wattle in male plumage. Females and juveniles possess well camouflaged, heavily mottled sandy brown plumage. Inhabits lightly wooded areas and open-country habitats, including parks and agricultural lands, especially with tall grass from plains to 1,000 m above sea level. It is endemic to Japan where it has long been designated as the national bird.

Being the closest relative of Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), one of the most studied species of Galliformes in the world, Green Pheasant is often lumped under that species.

It is also considered a game species in Japan and outside its native range and populations have established locally from captive-bred stock released alongside the naturally allopatric Ring-necked Pheasant and hybrids have been reported in many areas, including Europe, North America, and Hawaiian Islands.