A pheasant whose colourful male displays its feathers to court females.
Males have red, green, blue and golden feathers. Females have duller plumage that blends into their surroundings.
Golden Pheasants are native to China’s mountain forests, especially southern evergreen broadleaved woodland. The related Lady Amherst’s Pheasant also occurs in China; both belong to the same forest-associated genus.
A 2022 study mapped potentially suitable habitat using records from 2010–2021. After filtering duplicates and other unsuitable records, researchers combined 182 occurrence points with elevation, climate, vegetation and other environmental information.
Predicted habitat extended across Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei and other provinces. Outside nature reserves, suitable patches were more fragmented. The authors proposed small protected areas where feasible, alongside patrols and monitoring.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The Chinese study recommends protecting large forest patches within reserves and preventing further fragmentation outside them. It proposes small protected areas, stronger patrols and monitoring, and poaching control: measures extending habitat protection beyond reserve boundaries.