Noble pheasants
| Noble pheasants | ||||||||||
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Portrait of a pheasant cock with the typical "feather ears" |
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| Phasianus | ||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The noble pheasants ( Phasianus ) are a genus within the pheasant-like family, whose natural distribution is predominantly in the south of the East Palearctic and extends from the eastern edge of the Black Sea to Japan and in Southeast Asia a little way into the oriental region . In this genus there are one or two species, depending on the opinion - the pheasant and the colorful pheasant , whose species status is controversial. Some authors attribute it to the pheasant, others consider both species to be a super species . The pheasant varies significantly geographically, so over 30 subspecies are recognized. Both species were naturalized outside of their range, the pheasant in large parts of Europe, North America, Hawaii , in South Australia , New Zealand and Chile , the pheasant in Hawaii and in North America.
description
The two species in this genus are medium-sized pheasants with a length of 50–80 cm and a pointed tail up to 60 cm long. Typical of this genus are the cock's crown plumage, which is elongated on the back of the head and forms two more or less long, erect "feather ears" and the hair-like torn rump plumage. The eye area is featherless and scarlet. In the cockerels it carries erectile tissue, which is erect during courtship and then forms a frontal and wattled flap. Within the bare face area there is a small feathered area behind the eye. The very slim legs are long spurred. The hens do not have this spur or it appears as a small button in older animals. The bare orbital region is less extensive than in the cock and feather ears are absent.
There is also a noticeable gender dimorphism in terms of plumage color. The hens have an inconspicuous, brownish, scrawled and patterned plumage. The roosters, on the other hand, are quite colorful and parts of the body plumage shimmer metallic green, purple or bluish. The 18 flat, narrow cross-banded control springs are long, heavily tiered and slightly bent down at the end. In the middle pair, the edges of the flags are torn like hair like the rump plumage.
Way of life
In contrast to other pheasant species, noble pheasants are not specifically forest dwellers. Their habitat requirements consist of good cover as a retreat and open areas for ingestion, so that a fragmented, mosaic-like landscape is preferred. In the natural distribution areas, it is primarily river landscapes and wetlands, but in some cases also mountain valleys in lower to middle locations, which have these characteristics, but the extensively managed cultural landscape also brings these characteristics with it, which is why both species settle relatively successfully outside the distribution area let. The altitude distribution rarely extends to altitudes above 3000 m, a large part of the subspecies occurs in the flatlands, in the hill country and in low foothills.
During courtship time, noble pheasants live polygamously or, more rarely, monogamous , in winter they usually form small to medium-sized troops, which often consist of birds of the same sex. The courtship consists mainly of a side courtship, in which the fanned tail, the back and a drooping wing are presented. After mating, the hens retreat to the breeding business and lead the young birds for a while before they split up into the winter groups.
Internal system
It is controversial whether the Japanese pheasant is a separate species or just a subspecies group of the pheasant with a very different color. The latter - apart from the color - speak for the slight morphological , ethological and brood-biological differences. In addition, hybrids are always fertile. A further indication of the close relationship are the breast feathers, the seams of which vary from west to east in a gradually changing (clinical) row. In the western subspecies, the shiny black edges are wide and the feathers at the tip are hardly or not at all notched. This is the case with the eastern subspecies of the pheasant, in which the black fringes are only narrow or reduced to the point. The colored pheasant is the exact continuation of this series and is also very close to the eastern subspecies of the torquatus group of the pheasant with regard to other characteristics such as the color of the tail, upper wing-coverts, rump and apex or the presence of a white over-eye stripe .
External system
Noble pheasants are closely related to the black- tailed pheasants ( Syrmaticus ), but differ from the species of this genus by the tattered fletching of the rump and the more or less pronounced "feather ears" that the cocks carry on the back of the head, depending on the subspecies. The hens lack, among other things, the contrasting chest markings and the light shaft stripes and hems on the dorsal plumage of the Syrmaticus hens. Further differences are the color of the eggs, which are more dark olive-brown than cream-colored, and the chicks' dune dress.
species
Only two species are included in the genus of the noble pheasant:
- Pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus )
- Colorful pheasant ( Phasianus versicolor )
supporting documents
literature
- Charles William Beebe : A monograph of the pheasants , New York Zoological Society, 1918-1922, Vol. 3, pp. 143f
- Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim , Kurt M. Bauer: Handbook of the birds of Central Europe , Volume 5, Galliformes - Gruiformes. Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2nd edition 1994: pp. 322-370, ISBN 3-923527-00-4
- Heinz-Sigurd Raethel : Chicken birds of the world. Verlag J. Neumann-Neudamm GmbH & Co. KG, Melsungen 1988, ISBN 3-7888-0440-8 .
- Steve Madge, Phil McGowan and Guy M. Kirwan : Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse - A Guide to the Pheasants, Partridges, Quails, Grouse, Guineafowl, Buttonquails and Sandgrouse of the world. Christopher Helm, London 2002, ISBN 0-7136-3966-0 .