The green pheasant, also known as the Japanese green pheasant, is an omnivorous bird native to the Japanese archipelago, to which it is endemic. Some taxonomic authorities consider it a subspecies of the common pheasant, Phasianus colchicus. It is the national bird of Japan.
Image: Phasianus versicolor in Japan
Image: Phasianus versicolor female
Egg
Male in Japan
The common pheasant is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin phasianus, "pheasant". The species name colchicus is Latin for "of Colchis", a country on the Black Sea where pheasants became known to Europeans. Although Phasianus was previously thought to be closely related to the genus Gallus, the genus of junglefowl and domesticated chickens, recent studies show that they are in different subfamilies, having diverged over 20 million years ago.
Image: Common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) cock 2
Image: Phasianus colchicus Rutland Water female 8
Male of hybrid stock in Poland Note thin white neck-band due to a ring-necked subspecies' contribution to hybrid gene pool
Flavistic hen