Bird Album
Reeves's Pheasant
Syrmaticus reevesii (Gray, JE, 1829)
≈74 cmLength1.2 kgWeight
The male trails extremely long silvery-white tail feathers and has a white-black-white head pattern.
Busiest months: May–June · Most records: China, Czechia, France
How to identify
Field marks
- Head white, with a black band through the eye and around the back of the head
- Bare skin around the eye bright red
- Breast, scapulars and back golden-yellow, with black scale-like markings
- Central tail feathers extremely long, silvery-white with barring
Male, female and young
Female much plainer, with long tail feathers that are still far shorter than the male's; crown and occiput blackish-brown, with a large black patch behind the eye.
Voice
The call is a melodious trill, sounding more like a passerine than a galliform.
Where and when it's recorded
Reeves's Pheasant has been recorded at 18 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
Reeves's pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) is a large pheasant within the genus Syrmaticus. It is endemic to China. It is named after the British naturalist John Reeves, who first introduced live specimens to Europe in 1831.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Reeves's Pheasant?
The Reeves's Pheasant is about ≈74 cm long and weighs around 1.2 kg.
Where does the Reeves's Pheasant live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: northern, central China. It is most often recorded in China, Czechia and France.
When is the best time to see the Reeves's Pheasant?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May and June (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Reeves's Pheasant endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Reeves's Pheasant as Vulnerable.
What does the Reeves's Pheasant eat?
Main food: Seeds.
What family is the Reeves's Pheasant in?
It belongs to the family Pheasants & Allies (Phasianidae), order Galliformes.
At a glance
- Length
- ≈74 cm
- Weight
- 1.2 kg
- Habitat
- Woodland
- Diet
- Seeds
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Vulnerable
More measurements
- Wing
- 248 mm
- Tail
- 739 mm
- Bill
- 35 mm
- Tarsus
- 70 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: northern, central China
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Pheasants & Allies Phasianidae
- Genus
- Syrmaticus
Other birds in the genus Syrmaticus
Copper PheasantSyrmaticus soemmerringii
Mikado PheasantSyrmaticus mikado
Elliot's PheasantSyrmaticus ellioti
Mrs. Hume's PheasantSyrmaticus humiae
Udzungwa Forest PartridgeXenoperdix udzungwensis
Ferruginous PartridgeCaloperdix oculeus
Crested PartridgeRollulus rouloul
Black PartridgeMelanoperdix niger
Hill PartridgeArborophila torqueola
Sichuan PartridgeArborophila rufipectus
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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by No machine-readable author provided. Stavenn assumed (based on copyright claims).. ↗
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