Abstract
One of the most delightful, elegant,
subtly patterned and adorned of all of
the pheasants, this beautiful creature
is deservedly popular with a wide
range of aviculturalists.
In the wild it is found in five different
forms from Sikkim and Bhutan in
the westernmost part of its range, to
the Island of Hainan in the east. Preferred
habitat is dense vegetation up
to 4000 feet elevation.
Even though it is labeled P.b. ghigi,
it is impossible for me to know
which form is represented here at
the Aviary. The differences between
most forms are subtle, ranging from
greyer in the west to browner in the
east. However it is clearly not the
smallest, brownest P.b. katsumatae
from Hainan.
Although the largest of the Genus,
Grey Peacock Pheasants are still
quite small birds - rather like a small
chicken with big feathers.
The male is a warm grey shade
dusted with tiny, paler grey spots and
vermiculations and bearing jewel-like
ocelli on his wings and tail, which are
either amethyst or emerald depending
upon the angle of light. His only
other adornment is his bushy, erectile
crest. The scientific name Polyplectron
(many spurred) bicalcaratum
(double spurred), emphasizes
the variability of the number of spurs
which can be present on the males'
legs - sometimes three on one leg,
two or one on the other.
Hens are much smaller, darker and
without the colorful ocelli and spurs.
For the most part they are fairly
silent birds, conversing in subdued,
throaty purrs and clucks. Springtime,
however, stimulates the males to call
loudly and frequently with a two-part
whistle very early in the morning,
which will not endear them to your
neighbors. .
Our birds live in very large, planted
aviaries which they share with a great
many other species. They have
always been well behaved and nonaggressive,
giving way before smaller
and feistier species. Males, however,
will scrap with each other through
an adjoining fence, so a solid barrier
is required if pairs are to be neighbors.
We know of a number of people in
the Salt Lake area who successfully
keep and breed these birds best in
their tiny winter quarters, which can
be as small as 4' x 3' x 3' high. Photoperiod
and ambient temperature are
significant factors in those breedings,
of course.
They are simple and easy to maintain
on a diet of gamebird pellets supplemented
three or four times a
week with tidbits of mealworms,
chopped fruits, greenstuff, raw meat
(hamburger) or hard-boiled egg.
They should always have access to
clean water and oystershell grit.
Birds will breed at one year old (or
even a little less) and make excellent
natural parents. The one or two
chicks which make up the clutch will
follow the hen very closely, staying
beneath her tail for the first few days
as she moves around - and then
darting forward as she calls them to
take a morsel she has found, directly
feeding the chicks from her bill.
When pulled for handrearing
(which can induce the hen to multiclutch)
the chicks are rather more
difficult to rear, often requiring
handfeeding and coaxing to eat at all
in the first few days. Sometimes the
chicks are encouraged to eat by giving
them a self-feeding companion,
either a Golden Pheasant or Quail
chick - depending upon what happens
to hatch simultaneously. This
companion usually induces the
chicks to start eating, particularly if
mealworms are supplied. Typically,
as the worms are dropped into the
brooder, the Quail (or Pheasant)
chick will madly dash around with a
worm in its beak exciting the Peacock
Pheasant chicks into chasing
them and attempting to snatch the
worm from the other pheasant's bill
(bug-mugging?), thereby learning to
recognize food. They will also learn
to show interest in food scratched
and picked at by the companion
chick.
The chicks are initially delicate and
do require heat, around 90 degrees,
for the first week or so, the temperature
gradually being lowered as the
chicks get older. They do require
close observation to ensure that they
are getting enough to eat and that
they are being kept warm enough.
Chicks raised by their parents seem
robust and competent from the word
go, and are certainly a lot easier to
provide for.
As mentioned earlier, the birds can
be induced to multiclutch if their
eggs are removed, and they can
breed (given heated quarters and
appropriate lighting), at any time of
the year. The male has a beautiful display
in which he will call the hen
over to a tidbit, picking it up and
dropping it again to pique her interest,
then launching into an initially
lateral then full frontal display, in
which he places his breast on the
ground and partially spreads his
wings in front of his fully spread tail
to display his family jewels.
These birds are delightful, beautiful,
readily tamed and easy to maintain.
Though not quite a beginner's
bird, they can really be recommended
for the aviculturalist of some..