Golden Pheasant

The male Golden Pheasant is immediately recognizable by its golden crest, orange-and-black neck cape, scarlet underparts and very long patterned tail. Females are far less colourful, wearing barred brown plumage with a shorter tail, but share the compact pheasant shape. During display the male spreads his cape around the face, presenting a striking side-on pattern to the female (Wikipedia, general species account).

Native to the forested mountains of central China, Golden Pheasants favour dense undergrowth and spend most feeding time on the ground. They take seeds, shoots, berries and invertebrates, roosting in trees at night. The female lays and incubates the clutch in a concealed ground nest. Populations outside China largely stem from introductions or escaped captive birds, which accounts for records in Japan (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).