The Impeyan Pheasants are quite beautiful, especially the males with their iridescent coloring on the wings and neck. The reputation of being the “nine colored bird” comes from the mix of colors of green, purple, red and blue.

The adult male has a long, metallic-green crest, simliar to a peacock, with changeable reddish copper on the back and sides of the neck and a prominent white back and rump while in flight. The tail feathers are uniformly brownish red, being darker towards the tips.  The breast and underparts are black and the tail is copper. The males have a bare patch of turquoise blue skin around their eyes.

Females, while duller than the males, are still quite attractive. Their upper parts are covered with brownish-black feathers. Their throat is white and they have a short crest. The lower tail coverts of females are white, barred with black and reddish brown. Hens also have the blue patch around the eyes.

These pheasants breed well in captivity and can be good parents. They start breeding in their second year, and the season usually starts in late April. The will nest on the ground or a hole in a rock face, with an average clutch of 3-5 eggs, and sometime as many as 23. The incubation period is 28 days.

They will eat seeds, poultry layer pellets and greens. Their whistle is quite shrill.

They are available as a male/female pair.   There are also extra males available.  Please call 1-800-456-3280 to specify males only!

They are not pinioned but you can request that a wing be clipped.