Lady Amherst’s Pheasant

Lady Amherst's Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khrusolophos, "with golden crest". Sarah Amherst, who was in charge of delivering the first specimen of the bird to London in 1828, is honored with the English name and amherstiae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species rates Lady Amherst's pheasant as Least Concern.

The tail makes up 80 cm of the mature male's total length, which ranges from 100 to 120 cm. It is easily recognized by its nuchal cape, which is white, black, and has a crimson crest. Red, blue, dark green, white, and yellow feathers cover the long, grey tail and the rump. The "cape" can be displayed by being elevated. The golden pheasant (C. pictus), to which this species is closely related, has blue-green exposed skin around its eyes and a yellow eye. They had blue-gray legs and a bill that looked like a horn. The female is much less showy, with a duller mottled brown plumage all over, similar to that of the female common pheasant (P. colchicus) but with finer barring. She is very like the female golden pheasant but has a darker head and cleaner underparts than the hen of that species.