Copper pheasant
Amazing fact
Male copper pheasants make a loud sound by beating their wings against their chest.
井の頭自然文化園
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Male copper pheasants make a loud sound by beating their wings against their chest.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Copper pheasant
- Scientific name
- Syrmaticus soemmerringii
- Japanese name
- ヤマドリ
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Syrmaticus
This page covers the copper pheasant as a species. Birds in southern Kyushu, which have white feathers around the lower back, are the subspecies Ijima's copper pheasant.
A member of the pheasant family that lives deep in the mountains of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu in Japan.
Males have much longer tail feathers than females. Feather color and tail shape differ depending on where the birds live.
How the Copper pheasant lives
During the breeding season, the male’s copper-colored feathers become glossy. During the breeding season, the red areas around a male’s eyes swell and become brighter.
井の頭自然文化園Basic data
- Size
- Total length: males about 125 cm, females about 55 cm
- Diet
- Plant seeds, insects, soil organisms, and other food
- Range
- Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu in Japan
Where the Copper pheasant has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ヤマドリ
- 简体中文
- 铜长尾雉
- 繁體中文
- 銅長尾雉
- 한국어
- 구리꿩
- Español
- Faisán cobrizo
- Français
- Faisan scintillant
- Deutsch
- Kupferfasan
- Português (Brasil)
- Faisão-cuprino
- Italiano
- Fagiano ramato
- العربية
- تدرج نحاسي
- Русский
- Медный пёстрый фазан
- Türkçe
- Bakır sülün
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 井の頭自然文化園 — ヤマドリ（コシジロヤマドリ）Checked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Copper pheasant, look for this
- In the Ijima’s copper pheasant subspecies, look for the white feathers around its lower back.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
井の頭自然文化園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Copper pheasant
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Phasianidae
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