A long-tailed bird of open woods, grassland and farmland in Japan. Males and females differ markedly in colour.
Males have a red face and a glossy green breast and belly. Females are brown overall.
Male Green Pheasants repeatedly crow during the breeding season. Their short, two-syllable calls contain individual differences within a familiar sound.
A study in Yokohama and Kamakura examined 11 wild males and one captive male. From recordings made in 1999–2003, the researcher analysed 276 clear calls, comparing timing, relative syllable length, pitch and harmonic structure.
Calls from each male clustered together without overlapping other males in the analysis. One male retained a characteristic pattern of strong frequencies across years and social contexts. These acoustic differences offer a way to investigate individuals when vegetation obscures their appearance.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
A researcher’s 2017 account identified widespread releases of captive-bred birds as a concern because regional plumage differences had become less distinct. Studying local populations and retaining their regional characteristics are important. Acoustic identification can also support continued research on wild males.