Kalij Pheasant

Overview

Kalij Pheasant: Native to India and Pakistan. Glossy blue-black overall, face has bright red wattles. Crest, breast, and sides have long white to gray-brown feathers. Feathers from mid-back to rump edged in white, giving a scalloped appearance. Tail is long and black. Legs and feet are light tan.

Range and Habitat

Kalij Pheasant: Inhabits forests between 1000' and 7500' and also commonly seen on the edges of Mauna Loa, Hualalai, and Mauna Kea. A native of Southern Asia and introduced to the island of Hawaii in 1962.

INTERESTING FACTS
V The Kalij Pheasant is native to the foothills of the Himalayas and was first introduced to Hawaii in 1962.
Many of the juvenile males stay with the parents and help raise the next brood.
They were first described in 1790 by the English naturalist John Latham.
A group of pheasants has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "brace", "plume", "plump", and "trip" of pheasants.

The Kalij Pheasant has a large range, which is globally estimated to be between one million and ten million square kilometers. Native to China, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan and introduced to the island of Hawaii, this bird prefers Subtropical or Tropical Moist Forest or Shrubland habitats, though it can reside on arable land. The population of the bird has not been determined fully, but the presence of the bird is described as frequent in many of its native areas. The Kalij Pheasant does not currently meet the criteria for the IUCN Red List and thus has an evaluation level of Least Concern.