# Common pheasant (*Phasianus colchicus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-pheasant  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a medium-sized bird in the family Phasianidae and the order Galliformes. It is a terrestrial, sedentary omnivore whose main foods are cereal, earthworm and insect, and its recorded habitat is human-modified land. Adults weigh 1.12 kg, with a body mass from 953 g to 1.24 kg reported, and have a wingspan of 68.1 cm. It lays 11 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 24 days, and it is listed as Least Concern, not an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 953 g – 1.24 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 64.5 cm – 71.7 cm |
| Lifespan | 27 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Main food | cereal, earthworm, insect |
| Habitat | human_modified |
| Egg incubation | 24 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 9.9 – 11 |
| Age at maturity | 7.88 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Galliformes
- family: Phasianidae
- genus: Phasianus
- species: *Phasianus colchicus* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Pahsianus strauchi*, *Phasianus alpheraski*, *Phasianus alpheraski ussuriensis*, *Phasianus berezowskyi*, *Phasianus colchicus hemptinnii*, *Phasianus colchicus sohkotensis*, *Phasianus colchicus sohokotensis*, *Phasianus gmelini perzowi*, *Phasianus holdereri*, *Phasianus holdereri gmelini*, *Phasianus schensinensis*, *Phasianus semitorquatus*, *Phasianus sladeni*, *Phasianus strauchi chonensis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the common pheasant?

The common pheasant is a bird in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes. It is also called the Ring-necked pheasant.

### How heavy is a common pheasant?

An adult Common pheasant weighs 1.12 kg, with reported values from 953 g to 1.24 kg.

### What does the common pheasant eat?

The common pheasant is an omnivore whose main foods are cereal, earthworm and insect.

### Is the common pheasant endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a common pheasant live?

The common pheasant has a lifespan of 27 years.

### How many eggs does a common pheasant lay?

The common pheasant lays 11 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 24 days.

### Who named the common pheasant?

The common pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-pheasant