Swinhoe's Pheasant
Lophura swinhoii
Secretive, handsome endemic pheasant of Taiwan's mountains. Male slaty blue from nape to flanks, with contrasting white upper back, brown mantle, and dark gray wings; female mostly rich brown with pale markings above. Both sexes have red facial skin, more extensive in male. Forages quietly in pairs in the forest understory, occasionally along forest edge on trails or roads. Both sexes give subtle clucking calls and a high-pitched squeaky alarm call. Male has white in tail and back, unlike Mikado Pheasant; female distinguished by richer plumage tones, broader tail, pale bill, reddish legs, and unmarked underparts.
Identification
The male Swinhoe's pheasant can grow up to 79 cm. He has a glossy blue-purple chest, belly, and rump, white nape, red wattles, white tail feathers, and a white crest. The female is brown marked with yellow, arrow-shaped spots and complex barring patterns, and has maroon outer rectrices. The juvenile male is dark blue with brown and yellow patterns on its wings. Swinhoe's pheasants can also be distinguished from the Mikado pheasant by having red legs.<p>During display, the male's wattles become engorged and he performs a display consisting of a hop followed by running in a circle around females. A frontal display with the tail fanned is occasionally observed. He also does a wing-whirring display like other Lophura pheasants.
Taxonomy
Genus: Lophura; Family: Phasianidae; Order: Galliformes.
- Scientific name
- Lophura swinhoii
- Authority
- (Gould, 1863)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Lophura
Range and habitat
Swinhoe's pheasant is found in the mountains of central Taiwan, where it lives in primary broadleaf forest up to 2,300 m in elevation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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