What is "golden pheasant"

Pheasant \Pheas"ant\, n. [OE. fesant, fesaunt, OF. faisant, faisan, F. faisan, L. phasianus, Gr. ? (sc. ?) the Phasian bird, pheasant, fr. ? a river in Colchis or Pontus.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of large gallinaceous birds of the genus Phasianus, and many other genera of the family Phasianid[ae], found chiefly in Asia.

   Note: The

   common pheasant, or English pheasant ( Phasianus Colchicus) is now found over most of temperate Europe, but was introduced from Asia. The

   ring-necked pheasant ( Phasianus torquatus) and the

   green pheasant ( Phasianus versicolor) have been introduced into Oregon. The

   golden pheasant ( Thaumalea picta) is one of the most beautiful species. The

   silver pheasant ( Euplocamus nychthemerus) of China, and several related species from Southern Asia, are very beautiful.

2. (Zo["o]l.) The ruffed grouse. [Southern U.S.] Note: Various other birds are locally called pheasants, as the lyre bird, the leipoa, etc. Fireback pheasant. See Fireback. Gold pheasant, or Golden pheasant (Zo["o]l.), a Chinese pheasant ( Thaumalea picta), having rich, varied colors. The crest is amber-colored, the rump is golden yellow, and the under parts are scarlet. Mountain pheasant (Zo["o]l.), the ruffed grouse. [Local, U.S.] Pheasant coucal (Zo["o]l.), a large Australian cuckoo ( Centropus phasianus). The general color is black, with chestnut wings and brown tail. Called also pheasant cuckoo. The name is also applied to other allied species. Pheasant duck. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. The pintail.

   2. The hooded merganser. Pheasant parrot (Zo["o]l.), a large and beautiful Australian parrakeet ( Platycercus Adelaidensis). The male has the back black, the feathers margined with yellowish blue and scarlet, the quills deep blue, the wing coverts and cheeks light blue, the crown, sides of the neck, breast, and middle of the belly scarlet. Pheasant's eye. (Bot.)

      1. A red-flowered herb ( Adonis autumnalis) of the Crowfoot family; -- called also pheasant's-eye Adonis.

      2. The garden pink ( Dianthus plumarius); -- called also Pheasant's-eye pink. Pheasant shell (Zo["o]l.), any marine univalve shell of the genus Phasianella, of which numerous species are found in tropical seas. The shell is smooth and usually richly colored, the colors often forming blotches like those of a pheasant. Pheasant wood. (Bot.) Same as Partridge wood

         1. , under Partridge.

            Sea pheasant (Zo["o]l.), the pintail.

            Water pheasant. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The sheldrake.

         2. The hooded merganser.

n. A colorful game bird originating from China, ''Chrysolophus pictus''.

n. brightly colored crested pheasant of mountains of western and central Asia [syn: Chrysolophus pictus]

Golden Pheasant (foaled 1986) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won races in France, England, the United States, and Japan. He was owned by the then owner of the Los Angeles Kings NHL ice hockey team, Bruce McNall, and superstar Hall of Fame player, Wayne Gretzky.

Trained by Jonathan Pease, Golden Pheasant raced in France and England at age three and four where under jockey Tony Cruz his wins included a victory over Nashwan in the 1989 Prix Niel at Longchamp Racecourse near Paris in the Fall. Earlier in the year he finished second in both the Chester Vase at Chester Racecourse in Chester, England, and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud in Saint-Cloud, France. Golden Pheasant was then sent to race in the United States where he was conditioned by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Charlie Whittingham. Under jockey Gary Stevens, Golden Pheasant defeated top horses With Approval and Steinlen to win the Arlington Million at Chicago's Arlington Park. In 1991 Stevens rode him to victory in the Japan Cup.

Retired to stud duty, Golden Pheasant met with good success as a sire and currently stands at Lex Stud Shizunai-Cho, Shizunai-Gun, Hokkaidō, Japan.

To commemorate Golden Pheasant's winning both the Arlington Million and the Japan Cup, the Japan Racing Association gifted Arlington Park a Japanese cherry tree that was planted in the paddock area.

The golden pheasant or Chinese pheasant, (Chrysolophus pictus) is a gamebird of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous birds) and the family Phasianidae ( pheasants). The genus name is from Ancient Greek khrusolophos, "with golden crest", and pictus is Latin for "painted" from pingere, "to paint".

It is native to forests in mountainous areas of western China, but feral populations have been established in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Falkland Islands, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. In England they may be found in East Anglia in the dense forest landscape of the Breckland as well as Tresco on the Isles of Scilly.

The adult male is 90–105 cm in length, its tail accounting for two-thirds of the total length. It is unmistakable with its golden crest and rump and bright red body. The deep orange "cape" can be spread in display, appearing as an alternating black and orange fan that covers all of the face except its bright yellow eye with a pinpoint black pupil.

Males have a golden-yellow crest with a hint of red at the tip. The face, throat, chin, and the sides of neck are rusty tan. The wattles and orbital skin are both yellow in colour, and the ruff or cape is light orange. The upper back is green and the rest of the back and rump is golden-yellow. The tertiaries are blue whereas the scapulars are dark red. Other characteristics of the male plumage are the central tail feathers, black spotted with cinnamon, as well as the tip of the tail being a cinnamon buff. The upper tail coverts are the same colour as the central tail feathers. The male also has a scarlet breast, and scarlet and light chestnut flanks and underparts. Lower legs and feet are a dull yellow.

The female (hen) is much less showy, with a duller mottled brown plumage similar to that of the female common pheasant. She is darker and more slender than the hen of that species, with a proportionately longer tail (half her 60–80 cm length). The female's breast and sides are barred buff and blackish brown, and the abdomen is plain buff. She has a buff face and throat. Some abnormal females may later in their lifetime get some male plumage. Lower legs and feet are a dull yellow.

Both males and females have yellow legs and yellow bills.

Despite the male's showy appearance, these hardy birds are very difficult to see in their natural habitat, which is dense, dark young conifer forests with sparse undergrowth. Consequently, little is known about their behaviour in the wild.

They feed on the ground on grain, leaves and invertebrates, but they roost in trees at night. While they can fly clumsily in short bursts, they prefer to run and spend most of their time on the ground. If startled, they can suddenly burst upwards at great speed and with a distinctive wing sound.

Golden pheasants lay 8-12 eggs at a time and will then incubate these for around 22–23 days. They tend to eat berries, grubs, seeds and other types of vegetation.

The male has a metallic call in the breeding season.

The golden pheasant is commonly found in zoos and aviaries, but often as hybrid specimens that have the similar Lady Amherst's pheasant in their lineage.

There are also different mutations of the golden pheasant known from birds in captivity, including the dark-throated, yellow, cinnamon, salmon, peach, splash, mahogany and silver. In aviculture, the wild type is referred to as "red golden" to differentiate it from these mutations.