Fun Golden Pheasant Facts For Kids

The golden pheasant is known as the Chinese pheasant, as well as red golden pheasant. The golden pheasant is native to mountainous areas of western China. The discovery of the golden pheasant can be traced back to the United Kingdom about 100 years ago. The Chinese pheasant along with Lady Amherst Pheasant is known for its ruff, which spreads around its face and neck during the mating season. The golden pheasant is known as a timid bird. It hides in the dense forest during the day and roosts in very high trees during the night. Very little is known about their behavior pattern as they are very hard to spot. The golden pheasant is not known to fly a lot. They are mostly seen on the ground to find food. However, when they sense danger, they are known to have a short, fast burst of flight. Golden Pheasant's wattles and orbital skin are yellow in color along with the beak, feet, and legs. The breast and sides are pale yellow in appearance in males while in females they are barred buff and brownish in color. Though, the threat and chin have a rust color, the crest has a golden-yellow color. The tail feathers have a color similar to that of the tail coverts.

They can be commonly found in zoos along with some private collections. The average age of these birds can be between five to six years. After you are done reading the interesting information on golden pheasant, do check out our articles on cardinal birds and Blue Grosbeak.

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What type of animal is a golden pheasant?

The golden pheasant is a variety of birds known for its colorful, vibrant body. They have a long tail which is almost two thirds the length of their body. They are native to the woodlands and forested land of southern and western China.

What class of animal does a golden pheasant belong to?

The golden pheasant is a bird. It is famous for its colorful plumage. The female golden pheasant has a slightly muted plumage, and they are smaller in size too. The female golden pheasants aren't as showy as the male golden pheasants.

How many golden pheasants are there in the world?

There are different types of pheasants in the world. It will be a little difficult to gauge the total global population of the golden pheasant as the golden pheasant is found around the world.

Where does a golden pheasant live?

The golden pheasant lives in the forests and woodlands of mountainous regions. It can be commonly found on the dense forest ground foraging for food. The Chinese pheasant can also be found around sparse undergrowth in dense forests as it is the preferred habitat for these birds.

What is a golden pheasant's habitat?

The golden pheasant is found in dense forests of the mountainous region. The golden pheasant bird is known to be a very timid bird and doesn't like exposing itself to the sun. It prefer a hidden habitat, away in the forests.

Who do golden pheasants live with?

Not much is known about the behavior of the Chinese pheasant. The golden pheasant may be a solitary bird who prefers to stay in the shadows and not make itself visible that easily. When kept in captivity, they might prefer living alone in the cage.

How long does a golden pheasant live?

The life span of the golden Pheasant is five to six years.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding season for this species starts in the month of April. The stronger male golden pheasants make a display of their colorful feathers to attract the attention of the female golden pheasant. The cape of their feathers is capable of hiding their face and other body parts. The males golden pheasant has a distinct metallic call during the mating period. To win the mating rights with a female golden pheasant, many male golden pheasants may gather in the same area to compete and win the female’s attention. After a successful mating session, the females will lay 5-12 eggs. The female golden pheasant then incubates these eggs for 22 days. The pheasant eggs may vary in numbers.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status for the red golden pheasant is of the least concern. However, there is a growing concern due to its declining population, which is due to the cutting of trees and capture for pet trade and overhunting.

What do golden pheasants look like?

The golden pheasant looks like a beautiful bird with amazing colors splashed on its body. It has yellow beaks, legs, and feet. The golden pheasant has a golden crest tipped with red which starts from the top of the head and runs down their neck. These birds have bright-colored wings and a pale brown long barred tail. Their upper backs are green in color and have bright yellow eyes with black pupils. The female golden pheasants are colorful too, but the colors are muted in comparison to the male species.

The wattles and orbital skin are yellow in color. These birds have yellow beak, yellow feet, and yellow legs. In the males, the breast and sides are pale yellow colored while they are barred buff and black brownish in color in females. Though, the threat and chin have a rust color. The tail feathers have a color similar to that of the tail coverts.

How cute are they?

They are extremely cute birds because of their vibrant colors and small size. They are popular as pets too. The golden pheasants found in captivity like zoos are very often hybridized offspring of the golden pheasant and Lady Amherst’s pheasant.

How do they communicate?

Apart from the crowing sound made during the start of the mating by the male golden pheasant, they are not known to make any other sound. During the mating ritual, the male golden pheasant makes heightened sounds like squeaks, clicks, whistles, which culminates into a snake-like hiss as he spreads his golden cape.

How big is a golden pheasant?

The golden pheasant is a relatively medium-sized bird with a length of 36-42 in and a large tail.

Can golden pheasants fly?

The golden pheasant doesn't like to fly a lot. They are primarily terrestrial birds like the hens and cocks. They may have a short quick burst of flying when they feel threatened or endangered.

How much does a golden pheasant weigh?

The golden pheasant weighs between 1.20-2.42 lb. As per their size, they are lightweight.

What are their male and female names of the species?

The male golden pheasant is known as a 'male golden pheasant', and a female golden pheasant is known as 'female golden pheasant'.

What would you call a baby golden pheasant?

The baby golden pheasants are known as chicks.

What do they eat?

The golden pheasant eats invertebrates such as arthropods, mollusks, annelids, cnidarians, berries, grubs, seeds, and other vegetation types.

Are they predators?

We cannot call the golden pheasants predators per se, but they eat small insects and invertebrates found on the forest grounds. They also eat vegetation.

Would they make a good pet?

The golden pheasant makes excellent pets because of its colorful feathers and hardy nature. The golden pheasants have been kept as pets for almost 100 years. They were taken to England to be used in shooting sports, but due to their inability to fly in the face of danger, they became household pets.

Did you know...

In aviculture, the wild or the native type of golden pheasant is referred to as red-golden.

The Golden Pheasant is also known as the rainbow pheasant.

The golden pheasant wingspan is around 70 cm.

The drab colors on the female golden pheasant help them to blend into their surroundings.

The sound that the male golden pheasant makes for mating is called "chack chack".

The scientific name of the golden pheasant translate to 'painted bird with a golden crest'

If exposed to the sun for a longer period, the golden Pheasant may lose their bright colors.

In their native country of China, the golden pheasant is considered a symbol of good luck and prosperity.

At a sign of danger, the female golden pheasant squats down and remains motionless by taking advantage of the camouflage to avoid being preyed on.

The golden pheasants are solitary birds once the mating season is done.

The golden pheasant is the most common pheasant species.

While incubating the eggs, the female golden pheasants survive only on raindrops and dews without any food for 22 days.

In captivity, the golden pheasant can live for 15-20 years with proper care.

How to spot a female golden pheasant?

The golden pheasant doesn't like to come in the light, they are confined in their dark woodlands only. We may spot a male golden pheasant as they are bright and easy to spot, but females are just a lighter shade of brown than normal pheasants and very difficult to come across.

Are golden pheasants good fliers?

The golden pheasants are clumsy at flying and prefer to stay on the ground foraging for food and fly only in short bursts to escape danger.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including vogelkop bowerbird facts, or kestrel bird.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Golden pheasant coloring pages.