Endemic to Japan. Introduced widely. Formerly established in Hawaii.
The Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor), also known as Japanese Green Pheasant, is native to the Japanese archipelago, to which it is endemic. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the common pheasant. It is the national bird of Japan.
Habitat and distribution It is found throughout Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu as well as some smaller islands; it has also been introduced in Hawaii and (unsuccessfully) in North America as a gamebird. It inhabits woodlands and forest edges, brush, grassland, and parkland.
This species is common and widespread throughout its native range. It often frequents farmlands and human settlements. The introduced populations in Hawaii are stable. Populations in Western Europe have perhaps bred with the common pheasant for a number of years and no pure green pheasants exist there any longer. This species has been crossed with the common pheasant on some game farms in North America and released.
Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.netis one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there
Female Japanese Green Pheasant / キジ (キタキジ)
Shindenjuku rice paddies, Japan - April 2019
Male Japanese Green Pheasant / キジ (キタキジ)
Shindenjuku rice paddies, Japan - April 2019
Length:
81 cm Female: 59 cm
Wingspan:
cm
Weight:
900 - 1100 g
Longevity:
-
Distinctive Feature
•
Similar Species
• Common Pheasant male has white neck ring. Female smaller and more heavily marked than Common. Female may also be confused with female Copper Pheasant but is larger with longer tail lacking Copper's white tip.
Description The male (cock) has dark green plumage on the breast, neck, mantle, and flanks. The male also has bluish-purplish hood with clear ear-tufts, red wattle, and long, pale grey-banded tail. The female is smaller than the male, with a shorter tail, and has brownish black colored plumage, with dark brown feather fringed pale brown.
By Didier Descouens - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16621720
Hunting Green pheasants may be hunted in their native Japan between November 15 and February 15 by those in possession of a valid hunting license issued by the prefecture in which the hunting is carried out. A valid Japanese Firearms Permit is required if one wishes to use an air rifle or shotgun to hunt with. The bag limit is two male pheasants per day. No shooting of females is permitted.
Conservation status
Least ConcernIUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.