• 

  Profile

• 

  In flight

Game Birds

Mikado Pheasant

Syrmaticus mikado

• legendary
• 38 km/h
• Least Concern

The bird on Taiwan's NT$1000 note, and found only on that island. Painted in deep purple-blue iridescence.

Population

20,000–100,000 mature individuals (stable trend)

Habitat

Dense montane forest with thick undergrowth, bamboo, and coniferous overstory on steep mountain slopes, roughly 1,800–3,300 m elevation (independently corroborated 2,000–3,200 m band also cited)

Fun fact

The Mikado Pheasant is so closely tied to Taiwanese national identity that it (along with other endemic pheasants) appears on the country's currency, including the NT$1,000 banknote (depicted alongside Yushan National Park).

Range

Endemic to the central mountains of Taiwan; extent of occurrence roughly 12,400 km²

Diet

Omnivorous ground forager: fruit, leaves, other vegetation, seeds, and invertebrates

Size

0.7 m