Other species limits that remain open to debate, but are not as fully investigated, include a few of the grouse and many of the African francolins. nycthemera) remain among the more problematic cases for delineating a boundary between two (or possibly more) species. In contrast, despite extensive research and analysis, the complex mass of populations that comprise the Kalij Pheasant ( Lophura leucomelanos) and Silver Pheasant ( L. The male birds should look like this when they are an adult: Feet should be yellow, not olive like the Lady Amherst. The male has a large drooping purple crest, a metallic green head, blue bare skin around the eyes, a reddish gold mantle, bluish green feathers and black underparts. This monal is restricted to mountains of central China. The males have the bright colors while the females are dull and have no bright colors. The Chinese monal or Chinese impeyan ( Lophophorus lhuysii) is a pheasant. The Common Pheasant is among the most striking examples of visible diversity within a single, recognized species. Golden pheasants in the wild are called Red Golden pheasants in captivity. The species-level taxonomy of the Phasianidae is fairly well settled for most of the major subgroups, although several of the recognized species are internally diverse and include distinctive populations. Of course, this could all change again, so specification of the subfamilies under consideration is a helpful precaution against error. Himalayan Monal Pheasant dancing during courtship display. So, depending on the taxonomic paradigm of the day, the name Phasianidae has referred to anywhere from two to six subfamily- or family-level groups, or varying sets of three, four, or five. Adding to the potential confusion, two of the other galliform families, the guineafowls ( Numididae) and New World quails ( Odontophoridae) have sometimes been included in the Phasianidae. While partridges and pheasants have always been classified together, both grouse and turkeys have sometimes been classified as separate families. Phasianinae: Pheasants (51 to 53 species)Īs currently configured, therefore, the Phasianidae comprise approximately 182 to 204 extant species, plus two that have gone extinct in modern times. Perdicinae: Partridges and quails (110 to 127 species plus 2 extinct) This combined family is the Phasianidae, comprised of these subfamilies: The consensus since the early 2000s has been to classify four of the branches as separate families based on evidence that they diverged in the very distant past, and to combine the remaining four as subfamilies within a single family.
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