Silver Pheasant

Lophura nycthemera

The male is dazzling: snow-white back and long tail over jet-black underparts. SE Asia's most elegant pheasant.

Population: Global total unquantified; described as widespread and seemingly common in suitable habitat (China alone estimated ~10,000–100,000 breeding pairs), with an overall decreasing population trend from habitat destruction and unsustainable hunting
Habitat: Subtropical/tropical moist lowland and montane forests, plus some dry forest/grassland edge, mainly in hilly and mountainous terrain from about 100–2,200 m elevation; medium forest dependency
Fun fact: The strikingly two-toned male — glossy blue-black underparts against a white, black-penciled back and tail — is such a contrast to the drab brown female that early Western naturalists sometimes assumed they were two different species.
Range: Mainland Southeast Asia and southern/eastern China (Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam), extent of occurrence ~3,280,000 km²; introduced feral populations established on Vancouver Island, Canada and near Nahuel Huapi Lake, Argentina
Diet: Omnivorous ground forager — seeds, berries, shoots, roots, and tubers supplemented with insects and other small invertebrates
Size: 1.25 m
Lifespan: 16.9 years

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