Reeve’s Pheasant

Reeve’s Pheasant – Temper

Reeve's Pheasant illustrated by Ravenari

Keywords:

Being bad-tempered, being overly aggressive, letting others know how you feel, going to extraordinary lengths to protect your territory, finding it difficult to fit in or be tolerated by most people, anger issues, pride, forest energy, mountain energy, being physically impressive and striking in appearance, exaggeration, being prone to the inflation of stories, telling a charming tale, temper.

General Description:

The Reeve’s pheasant (long-tailed pheasant) is a large pheasant endemic to China. They can be found in evergreen forests, and can also inhabit agricultural land near forests. They are quite hardy – like many pheasants – and can handle extremes of temperature. They prefer higher altitudes. They have beautiful plumage, and males have a very long, silver-white, barred tail. One specimen holds the Guinness World Records for having the longest tail feather, which can measure up to 2.4 metres in length. The male’s tail is said to grow a foot for every year they are alive.

They can be aggressive towards humans, animals and other pheasants – even when compared to other pheasants, which can also be bad-tempered. They notably attack without fear, and can maintain repeated and prolonged attacks. They consume grains and other vegetation. They have a musical call, unlike other pheasants. They are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to hunting for their food and feathers, and habitat loss. There are approximately 2000 wild birds remaining. They are popular in hunting, and also in aviculture. They are on the decline in the wild.