Lady Amherst pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae)

Personal Information
The female Lady Amherst pheasant at the Zoo hatched in 1998. Sarah, the Countess of Amherst, was the first person to send these birds to London in early in the 1800’s which is why the bird is named after her. She can be found in the Aviary.

Status in the Wild
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status: Least concern.

Habitat
These pheasants are native to southwest China and northern Burma. They live in wooded areas and bamboo thickets of altitudes 7,000 to 12,000 feet.

Diet
Lady Amherst pheasants are omnivores. They eat fruit, berries, bamboo shoots, spiders, insects and aquatic animals.

This species is closely related to the golden pheasant. The inbreeding of these two species produces fertile hybrids, making purebred Lady Amhersts and purebred golden pheasants very hard to find.
An adult male Lady Amherst pheasant is more than three feet long. Its tail makes up about two-thirds of that length.
The male sports beautiful multi-colored plumage while the female is brown and has barred plumage. The clutch size of the Lady Amherst is between six and 12 eggs per clutch, which the female incubates.
Lady Amherst pheasants are largely terrestrial, but will engage in short bursts of flight when prompted.