Visual signaling may occur through morphological features or behavioral interactions. Some phasianids have brightly colored skin on the face or neck, wattles or elaborately structured and brightly colored plumage. Males appear to display these features during courtship and during agonistic male-male interactions. Posturing during threat displays may entail upright lateral or frontal positioning while submission may involve a lowering of the body to the substrate.
Phasianid vocalizations range from the familiar crowing of the domestic fowl to loud screams to clucking or hissing. Crowing may be individually identifiable signals for territory defense or mate attraction. Sustained raucous screams may be given in response to alarm. Threat vocalizations are low in frequency and submission appears to be accompanied by hissing. Clucking may serve as a brood gathering vocalization. Phasianids may also produce acoustic signals by rattling tail feathers or by drumming in flight as known from some grouse.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species includes 68 phasianid species. Two species are listed as extinct: double-banded argus (Argusianus bipunctatus) and New Zealand quail (Coturnix novaezelandiae). Habitat loss and hunting are among the major threats identified for this group.
Phasianidae is a diverse group comprising over 50 genera and over 214 species. Phasianid galliforms are commonly known as grouse, turkeys, pheasants, partridges, francolins, and Old World quail. Phasianids are small to large, blunt-winged terrestrial birds. Some species are noted for elaborate courtship displays in which males strut about, displaying colorful plumage and wattles, sometimes accompanied by an expansive spreading of the tail feathers. Some members of this group are important game birds and others, like domestic chickens (derived from Gallus gallus), are bred and reared for human consumption.
Phasianids may cause damage to some agricultural crops (maize, barley, wheat, millet) by foraging for seeds and shoots on cultivated lands.
Negative Impacts: crop pest
Phasianids are economically important to humans. Phasianids such as grouse, quail, partridges, pheasants and turkeys are important game birds that are hunted regularly in all parts of the world. Some phasianids, such as common fowl (derived from Gallus gallus), have been domesticated and are reared for human consumption of meat and eggs and for "fancy". Most species are hunted primarily for food, although feathers of some species have been collected for ornamentation and clothing manufacture. Sometimes bones have been used in the manufacture of various tools.
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food ; body parts are source of valuable material; ecotourism ; produces fertilizer
Phasianids may serve an ecosystem role as seed dispersers or seed predators.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Food habits of phasianids are varied, consisting of a mixture of plant and animal material. Plant materials include: grains, seeds, roots, tubers, nuts, fruits, berries and foliage. Animal materials include: arthropods (Ephemerida, Orthoptera, Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera), mollusks, worms, lizards, and snakes.
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates, Insectivore ); herbivore (Folivore , Frugivore , Granivore ); omnivore
Phasianids are distributed globally except for polar regions and some oceanic islands.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced , Native ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native ); ethiopian (Introduced , Native ); neotropical (Introduced , Native ); australian (Introduced , Native )
Other Geographic Terms: cosmopolitan
Phasianids inhabit a diversity of habitats including rainforests, scrub forests, deserts, woodlands, bamboo thickets, cultivated lands, alpine meadows, tundra and forest edges. Some species may be found up to 5000 m above sea level, sometimes more.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: tundra ; taiga ; desert or dune ; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural
Some species in the wild may live for five to eight years (grouse) whereas some captive phasianids have survived for 30 years (Great Argus).
Phasianids are small to large, ranging from 500 g to 9.5 kg in weight. Phasianids have short, rounded wings. Tail length is variable by species, appearing almost tailless in some to up to one meter in others. Plumage coloration ranges from cryptic to dark to brightly -patterned. The legs are sturdy and one or more spurs may be present on the tarsus. Toes are short with blunt claws and the hallux is raised. Phasianids may have crests, or bare skin on the head or neck, or wattles. Physical characteristics may be sexually monomorphic or dimorphic depending on species. Some phasianid males are larger, more brightly colored, have longer tails or more elaborate ornamentation than females.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes colored or patterned differently; male more colorful; sexes shaped differently; ornamentation
Mammalian predators of phasianids include: foxes, dogs, cats, opossums, raccoons, skunks, rodents, fishers, and mongooses. Avian predators include raptors and corvids. Reptilian predators are largely snakes.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Phasianid mating systems are variable depending upon species. Some taxa are described as monogamous with the pair bond lasting the duration of the breeding season Generally monogamous species are sexually monomorphic in plumage coloration and size, or slightly dimorphic. Some taxa are polygynous with a pair bond evident until incubation of the eggs. Males of these taxa are often brighter or larger than females. Polygynandry has also been observed in some taxa, with pair bonds evident to copulation. In these taxa males are generally more brightly colored and often somewhat larger than females. In some species males gather on leks to display for females. Courtship behaviors may include tid-bitting (food-showing), strutting, waltzing, and wing-lowering. Sometimes elaborate lateral or frontal displays take place, in which males expose the most colorful parts of their plumage, which may include tail spreading and displaying of swollen wattles. Socially dominant males may copulate more frequently and more successfully than males lower in the social hierarchy. Status in the male hierarchy may be related to size, coloration and relative display characteristics.
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous ; polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Many phasianids breed seasonally, usually coinciding with springtime for temperate species and the wet season for tropical species. Courtship in some species entails elaborate visual displays in which males may strut about displaying brightly colored plumage or wattles. Sometimes males congregate on leks to display for females. Females appear to select the nest site and likely construct the nest. Nests are usually shallow, often lined with grass and leaves. Nests are often located on the ground, but some species use tussocks or trees. Female nest building behavior entails picking up material and tossing it backwards. Egg coloration varies, and may be white, olive, brown or spotted. Clutch size varies by species, ranging from 2 to 20 eggs. In some species egg-dumping may occur. Incubation begins with the last egg laid and is variable by species, lasting from 18 to 29 days. Chicks are precocial and are covered with down and first primaries or secondaries upon hatching. Chicks can walk, run and forage shortly after hatching, yet stay close to the female during the first week or two. Within two weeks chicks may begin to fly and to disperse, but will still brood with the female. Depending on the species, broods may dissolve sometime between six to sixteen weeks. Adult plumage may be attained at one to two years and sexual maturity from one to five years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous
In phasianids, it appears that females alone incubate, beginning with the last egg laid and continuing for 19 to 29 days. Females may brood chicks for as long as 16 weeks. In some species males help rear young by providing defense of nest or brood. In other species males appear to provide no parental care. Parents and offspring of some species join coveys or flocks at the end of the breeding season.
Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
