Golden Pheasant - A Declining Rare Bird in Britain
“Deep in the forests of Norfolk lives the golden pheasant, a bird so beautiful it has been suggested as the origin of the phoenix legend”
(BBC Radio 4 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01s38s0 ).
The Golden Pheasant,Chrysolophus pictus, is a rare, non-native species of bird which was first introduced to Britain in the late nineteenth century. Some escaped into the wild and established a small, although scattered, breeding population.
Sadly, wild Golden Pheasant in Britain are disappearing from their old haunts with only a thousand birds remaining. Experts believe the dwindling population is a sign that the Golden Pheasant will be extinct in Britain in the future.
Golden Pheasants are sometimes known as “Chinese pheasants” because they are native to the mountainous regions of China.
Adults are smaller than native pheasants with males displaying brightly coloured plumage and very long tails. Males have a yellow crown tipped with red which extends from their heads to their necks. Females are smaller and duller with brown plumage.
Golden Pheasants are shy and elusive birds who live and breed in dense woodland and forestry plantations. They are usually found s among conifer trees, particularly young conifer plantations.
The main diet of the Golden Pheasant includes insects, spiders, invertebrates, seeds and the leaves and buds of woodland plants.
Foraging normally takes place at dawn or dush when they walk along the floor of woods and forests searching for food. Golden Pheasants rarely fly in the air and roosting at night takes place high in the branches of trees.
The weary nature of these pheasants together with their ability to move quickly through the undergrowth makes Golden Pheasants difficult to see despite their bright plumage.
Golden Pheasants were first introduced to Norfolk in England as exotic birds in private collections during the 1870s. Some escaped into the wild and established breeding populations in the woods and forests of England, Scotland and Wales.
Golden Pheasants remain near the areas they were hatched and rarely move more than 500 metres or 0.3 miles
The population of Golden Pheasants has declined in recent years.
“The declining pheasant numbers are now believed to be down to no more than 1,000 pairs of golden” pheasants (Independent - https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/country-garden-golden-and-nearly-gone-1183309.html ).
The strongholds of wild Golden Pheasants are Norfolk and Suffolk. Smaller numbers are also scattered widely over the lowland areas of Britain.
Wild Golden Pheasants can be seen all year round in Anglesey in Wales, Galloway, Scotland, and the South Downs in England.
A map of the areas where wild Golden Pheasants are found in Britain has been provided by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO - http://s1.sovon.nl/ebcc/eoa/?species1=3960 ).
The small population of Golden Pheasants in Weyland Woods in the Brecklands in Norfolk disappeared during the early 1990s. Disturbance was given as the reason for their decline. Some are still seen in nearby areas although some of these sightings may be recently escaped captive birds (The Breckland Birder - http://brecklandbirder.blogspot.com/2016/02/golden-beauty-at-thompson-norfolk.html ).
A small breeding population was established in Kirroughtree Forest in Scotland. Their numbers declined between the 1970s and 80s from a high of from 250 birds.
Golden Pheasants can also be found in Tresco on the Isles of Scilly, although most are thought to be new releases (Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/93372558@N00/1562563220 ).
Golden Pheasants sometimes breed with Lady Amherst’s Pheasants both in captivity and in the wild. Hybrids of the two species have been spotted in Britain over the centuries.
Very little is known about the breeding habits of wild Golden Pheasants in Britain as their shy nature makes them difficult to study.
Five to twelve eggs are laid on the ground which hatch after three weeks. The young learn to fly after another 2 weeks.
The Golden Pheasant is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.
The global trend for the Golden Pheasant is described as declining with the felling of trees, illegal cage bird industry and hunting cited as the reasons for the decline by Birdlife International.
The status of the Golden Pheasant has not been assessed in Britain. The decline of the population in recent years has led experts to the opinion that wild Golden Pheasants are facing extinction in Britain.
“It has long been recognised that Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, although still present in small numbers in Bedfordshire, is no longer maintaining a self-sustaining population, and the same fate may await Golden Pheasant as no records of confirmed breeding of this species were submitted ” (Birdguides - https://www.birdguides.com/news/lady-a-and-golden-pheasant-nearly-gone-from-britain/ ).
The reasons for the decline are unknown although loss of habitat and an increase in their natural predators such as foxes may be responsible for the fall in their numbers.
For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit,
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