Back to Field Guide
Silver Pheasant
Lophura nycthemera
Range & Recent Observations
Last Spotted Near You
About the Silver Pheasant
The silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera) is a species of pheasant found in forests, mainly in mountains, of mainland Southeast Asia and eastern and southern China. It is introduced on Victoria Island in Nahuel Huapi Lake, Neuquén, Argentina and on Vancouver Island, Canada. The male is black and white, while the female is mainly brown. Both sexes have a bare red face and red legs (the latter separating it from the greyish-legged kalij pheasant). It is common in aviculture, and overall also remains common in the wild, but some of its subspecies (notably L. n. whiteheadi from Hainan, L. n. engelbachi from southern Laos, and L. n. annamensis from southern Vietnam) are rare and threatened.
Source: Wikipedia
Classification
- Scientific name
- Lophura nycthemera
- Family
- Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies
- Order
- Galliformes
Similar species
Other members of the pheasants, grouse, and allies family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.
- Black Francolin Francolinus francolinus
- Blue-breasted Quail Synoicus chinensis
- Brown Quail Synoicus ypsilophorus
- Chukar Alectoris chukar
- Common Quail Coturnix coturnix
- Dusky Grouse Dendragapus obscurus
- Erckel's Spurfowl Pternistis erckelii
- Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus
- Gray Francolin Ortygornis pondicerianus
- Gray Partridge Perdix perdix
- Gray Peacock-Pheasant Polyplectron bicalcaratum
- Greater Prairie-Chicken Tympanuchus cupido
Know when the Silver Pheasant turns up near you
How rare bird alerts work →Gear for spotting Silver Pheasant
Optics
Best Binoculars for Beginners
You don't need to spend a fortune. These four pairs will get you birding confidently on day one.
8 min readRead guide
Cameras
Cameras for Bird Photography
From phone adapters to dedicated rigs, here's what actually works for capturing birds in the field.
12 min readRead guide