Golden Pheasant

Behaviour: The males colour is purely for display to attract a female during the breeding season. When he has wooed and won the female they will stay together until the female starts sitting (incubating) the eggs. The female is then left to rear the chicks on her own. Her colour is camouflage for the time spent at the nest. As a result of their colour it is more likely that more males are predated than females, so a higher percentage of chicks hatched are likely to be male to compensate.

Diet: Seeds, flowers and insects.

Distribution: Central China to Eastern Tibet and Japan.

Status in the wild: Least Concern – not threatened at this time.