Common pheasant

Scientific name: Phasianus colchicus

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Males are unmistakable with iridescent green head, red face patches, and long barred tail. Females are mottled buff-brown overall, smaller and duller, with shorter tails; both sexes have bare facial skin around the eye.

Size and weight

Males 70–90 cm body length, 0.7–1.3 kg; females 50–66 cm, 0.5–1.0 kg.

Habitat

Common pheasants favour mixed agricultural landscapes with hedgerows, woodland edges, and reed beds. They prefer areas with dense ground cover for roosting and nesting, from lowland farmland to foothills at elevations up to 1,500 m.

Distribution

Widespread across temperate Asia; introduced extensively in Europe and North America. Inhabits cultivated plains, grasslands, and scrub from sea level to montane zones.

Diet

Omnivorous, feeding on seeds, grain, and shoots (especially wheat, barley, and clover), supplemented with insects, berries, and invertebrates in spring and summer.

Behaviour

Largely terrestrial and crepuscular, most active at dawn and dusk. Solitary or in small coveys outside breeding season; flush explosively when disturbed but prefer running. Roost in trees or reed beds at night.

Hunting tips

Look for scratch marks in leaf litter and droppings (elongated, fibrous pellets) near crop edges and roosting sites. Approach into wind through standing crops, hedgerows, or reed beds early morning or late afternoon. Walk deliberately to flush birds; they typically fly low and fast before dropping back to cover within 100–200 m.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 44 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.