Phasianidae

The Phasianidae  is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl (including chicken), Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae. Sometimes additional families and birds are treated as being in this family as well; the American Ornithologists' Union includes Tetraonidae (the grouse), Numididae (guineafowls), and Meleagrididae (turkeys) in Phasianidae as subfamilies.

The earliest fossil records of phasianids date to the late Oligocene epoch, about 30 million years ago.

Distribution
The pheasants and their allies are an Old World family, with a distribution that includes most of Europe and Asia (except the far north), all of Africa except the driest deserts and down into much of eastern Australia and (formerly) New Zealand. The greatest diversity of species is in Southeast Asia and Africa. Amongst the pheasants, with the exception of the Congo Peafowl, the distribution is entirely restricted to Asia; the Perdicinae have a much more widespread distribution. Within their range they occupy almost every available habitat except for boreal forest and tundra.

The family is generally sedentary and resident, although some quails undertake long migrations. Several species in the family have been widely introduced around the world, particularly pheasants which have been introduced to Europe, Australia and the Americas. Captive populations of peacocks and chickens have also escaped and become feral.

Description
Phasianids are terrestrial, ground living species. They are variable in size and ranging from 43 g, in the case of the King Quail, to 6 kg in the case of the Indian Peafowl. There is generally sexual dimorphism in size, with males tending to be larger than females. They are generally plump, with broad relatively short wings and strong legs. Many have a spur on their legs, a feature shared with guineafowl and turkeys but no other galliform birds. The bill is short and generally strong, particularly in species that dig in order to obtain food. Males of the larger species often have brightly coloured plumage as well as facial ornamentations such as wattles or crests.

Behaviour
The pheasants and partridges have a varied diet, with foods taken ranging from purely vegetarian diets of seeds, leaves, fruits, tubers and roots, to small animals including insects, insect grubs and even small reptiles. Most species either specialise in feeding on plant matter or are predatory, although the chicks of most species are insectivorous.

In addition to the variation in diet there is a considerable amount of variation in breeding strategies amongst the Phasianidae. Compared to birds in general there is a large number of species that do not engage in monogamy (the typical breeding system of most birds). The francolins of Africa and some partridges are reportedly monogamous, but polygamy has been reported in the pheasants and junglefowl, some quail, and the breeding displays of peacocks have been compared to those of a lek. Nesting usually occurs on the ground; only the tragopans nest higher up in stumps of bushes. Nests can vary from monds of vegetation to slight scrapes in the ground. As many as 18 eggs can be laid in the nest, although 7-12 is the more usual number, with smaller numbers in tropical species. Incubation is almost always performed by the female only, and last from 14–30 days depending on the species.

Relationship with humans
Several species of pheasant and partridge are extremely important to humans. The Red Junglefowl of Southeast Asia is the wild ancestor of the domesticated chicken, the most important bird in agriculture. Several species are threatened by human activities.

Species List

 * Genus Ithaginis
 * Blood Pheasant, (Ithaginis cruentus)
 * Genus Tragopan
 * Western Tragopan, (Tragopan melanocephalus)
 * Satyr Tragopan, (Tragopan satyra)
 * Blyth's Tragopan, (Tragopan blythii)
 * Temminck's Tragopan, (Tragopan temminckii)
 * Cabot's Tragopan, (Tragopan caboti)
 * Genus Pucrasia
 * Koklass Pheasant, (Pucrasia macrolopha)
 * Genus Lophura, Gallopheasants
 * Kalij Pheasant, (L. leucomelanos)
 * White-crested Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. hamiltoni)
 * Nepal Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. leucomelanos)
 * Black-backed Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. melanota)
 * Black Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. moffitti)
 * Black-breasted Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. lathami)
 * William's Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. williamsi)
 * Oates' Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. oatesi)
 * Crawfurd's Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. crawfurdi)
 * Lineated Kalij Pheasant, (L. l. lineata)
 * Silver Pheasant, (L. nycthemera)
 * Imperial Pheasant, (Lophura imperialis)
 * Edward's Pheasant, (Lophura edwardsi)
 * Vietnamese Pheasant, (Lophura hatinhensis)
 * Swinhoe's Pheasant, (Lophura swinhoii)
 * Hoogerwerf's Pheasant, (Lophura hoogerwerfi)
 * Salvadori's Pheasant, (Lophura inornata)
 * Crestless Fireback, (Lophura erythrophthalma)
 * Malayan Crestless Fireback, (L. e. erythrophthalma)
 * Bornean Crestless Fireback, (L. e. pyronota)
 * Crested Fireback, Lophura ignita
 * Lesser Bornean Crested Fireback, (L. i. ignita)
 * Greater Bornean Crested Fireback, (L. i. nobilis)
 * Vieilott's Crested Fireback, (L. i. rufa)
 * Delacour's Crested Fireback, (L. i. macartneyi)
 * Siamese Fireback, (Lophura diardi)
 * Bulwer's Pheasant, (Lophura bulweri)
 * Genus Crossoptilon, Eared Pheasants
 * White-eared Pheasant, (Crossoptilon crossoptilon)
 * Tibetan Eared Pheasant, (Crossoptilon harmani)
 * Brown Eared Pheasant, (Crossoptilon mantchuricum)
 * Blue Eared Pheasant, (Crossoptilon auritum)
 * Genus Catreus
 * Cheer Pheasant, (Catreus wallichi)
 * Genus Syrmaticus, Long-tailed Pheasants
 * Reeve's Pheasant, (Syrmaticus reevesi)
 * Elliot's Pheasant, (Syrmaticus ellioti)
 * Mrs. Hume's Pheasant, (Syrmaticus humiae)
 * Mikado Pheasant, (Syrmaticus mikado)
 * Copper Pheasant, (Syrmaticus soemmerringi)
 * Genus Phasianus, Typical Pheasants
 * Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor)
 * Common Pheasant, (Phasianus colchicus)
 * Genus Chrysolophus, Ruffed Pheasants
 * Golden Pheasant, (Chrysolophus pictus)
 * Lady Amherst's Pheasant, (Chrysolophus amherstiae)
 * Genus Polyplectron, Peacock-Pheasants
 * Bronze-tailed Peacock-Pheasant, (Polyplectron chalcurum)
 * Mountain Peacock-Pheasant, (Polyplectron inopinatum)
 * Germain's Peacock-Pheasant, (Polyplectron germaini)
 * Grey Peacock-Pheasant, (Polyplectron bicalcaratum)
 * Hainan Peacock-Pheasant, (Polyplectron katsumatae)
 * Malayan Peacock-Pheasant, (Polyplectron malacense)
 * Bornean Peacock-Pheasant, (Polyplectron schleiermacheri)
 * Palawan Peacock-Pheasant, (Polyplectron emphanum)
 * Genus Lophophorus
 * Himalayan Monal, (Lophophorus impejanus)
 * Sclater's Monal, (Lophophorus sclateri)
 * Chinese Monal, (Lophophorus lhuysii)
 * Genus Rheinartia
 * Crested Argus, (Rheinartia ocellata)
 * Genus Argusianus
 * Great Argus, (Argusianus argus)
 * Double-banded Argus, (Argusianus bipunctatus )
 * Genus Pavo
 * Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)
 * Green Peafowl, (Pavo muticus)
 * Genus Afropavo
 * Congo Peacock, (Afropavo congensis)