Home / Birds / Chickens, pheasants and quail / Edwards's pheasant
Federal restrictions applyEdwards's pheasant
Lophura edwardsi
Birds › Chickens, pheasants and quail (Galliformes) › Phasianidae (Chickens, pheasants and quail)
Edwards's pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) is a bird of the pheasant family Phasianidae and is endemic to the seasonal tropical forests of central Vietnam.
Care at a glance
Species-specific values
Values researched for this exact species. Where they differ from the group guide below, follow these. Air, surface and water temperatures are listed separately, and each source is kept as published rather than averaged.
| Minimum outdoor enclosure area | 15 m² For a pair. | 332 |
| Minimum outdoor enclosure height | 2.5 m For a pair; furnish to limit collision injury. | 332 |
| Minimum indoor enclosure area | 3 m² For a pair; enlarge for prolonged confinement. | 332 |
| Minimum indoor enclosure height | 3 m Dimensions paragraph; subsequent general text also gives 2.5 m as a height floor. Keep this explicit 3 m indoor recommendation. | 332 |
| Diet crude protein | 12 % dry matter Adult maintenance reference; zoo management, not a production-growth diet. | 332 |
| Diet crude protein | 14 % dry matter Breeding reference. | 332 |
| Thermal refuge | Dry, draft-free, frost-free shelter; shade and a cooler refuge during extreme heat. | 332 |
Warnings
Care guide
Ornamental pheasants, peafowl and curassows
Applies to most species in this group. Habitat: Forests and forest edges. Individual species can differ, so compare with the species numbers above and the linked sources.
Housing & setup
- Large, covered, planted aviaries; peafowl need tall roosts and lots of space, and they're loud.
- Visual barriers reduce stress in shy species.
Diet
- Gamebird pellets plus greens, fruit and insects.
Health watch
- Males fight; keep one male per enclosure.
- Several species are CITES-listed; buy captive-bred with paperwork.
Understanding the animal
About this animal
About this animal
It is named after the French ornithologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards and first described to science in 1896. The bird's length is 58–65 centimetres (23–26 in) and has red legs and facial skin.
Quoted from the Wikipedia article “Edwards's pheasant” (CC BY-SA 4.0) 174
In the wild
In the wild
Quoted from the matching sections of reputable sources for this exact species. Specialist databases are used first; Wikipedia (community-edited, CC BY-SA 4.0) only fills gaps. Other sources are short credited quotes.
| Overview | Edwards's pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) is a bird of the pheasant family Phasianidae and is endemic to the seasonal tropical forests of central Vietnam. It is named after the French ornithologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards and first described to science in 1896. The bird's length is 58–65 cm and has red legs and facial skin. The male is mainly blue-black with a crest, and the female is a drab brown bird. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Where it lives | Edwards's pheasant is endemic to central Vietnam and has been found in four provinces (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue). They live in evergreen forests with lots of palms and patches of bamboo. The birds often hide in the low vegetation, and females dig their nests in the grounds of these forests. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Wild diet | Edward's pheasants have rarely been observed in the wild, so little is known about its behavior in its natural habitat. An Edwards's pheasant at Denver Zoo's diet consists of mealworms, chopped fruit, and greens, specially formulated game bird diet. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Reproduction | Edward's pheasants usually breed between the months of March and May. Males push their chests, vibrate their wings, and erect the feathers on their backs to find their mate. Females can begin to breed after two years, while their maximum fertility is usually around ages 4-5. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Appearance and size | Edwards pheasants have a body length of 58-65 cm, including the tail length, which is about 24-26 cm for males, and 20-22 cm for females. Males are heavier, with a weight between 1115-1100 g, and females around 1050 g. Males are all black, with a blue tint throughout their feathers. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| History and naming | Edwards's pheasant was first observed in 1896. Twenty-eight years later, another species of Lophura, the Imperial pheasant (Lophura imperialis), was seen in the border area between Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces. It was later proven to be a hybrid between the Edwards's pheasant and the Silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera). — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Conservation | Lophura edwardsi was assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2018 and listed as Critically Endangered. It is one of the most endangered species of Galliformes. Their population is decreasing, with 50-249 mature individuals right now, according to IUCN Red List. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
Native climate (measured)
Native climate (measured)
| Warm-season highs | about 91°F (up to 93°F in the hottest sampled areas) |
| Cool-season lows | about 62°F (down to 57°F in the coldest sampled areas) |
| Average temperature | 74–78°F across sampled records |
| Relative humidity | 78–79% on average (driest month about 72%) |
| Rainfall | about 2248 mm a year, with strong wet and dry seasons |
Measured at 18 wild occurrence records sampled against WorldClim 2.1 climate data (1970–2000 averages). Air conditions in the range are ecological context, not enclosure settings: microhabitats such as burrows, leaf litter or basking rocks can be cooler, warmer or more humid.
Profile
Profile
Researched for this exact species. Sources are listed under In the wild above.
History
Edwards's pheasant was first observed in 1896. Twenty-eight years later, another species of Lophura, the Imperial pheasant (Lophura imperialis), was seen in the border area between Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces. It was later proven to be a hybrid between the Edwards's pheasant and the Silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera).
Data and studies
The numbers
The numbers
Each bar is what one source reports. Where several sources weigh in, the dashed gold band marks their average.
Typical adult weight
Average adult body mass in each database (FishBase gives the maximum recorded weight).
Sources for this sheet
- Myhrvold et al. (2015). An amniote life-history database. Ecology 96: 3109 Peer-reviewed researchPeer-reviewed compilation of life-history data for over 21,000 birds, mammals and reptiles.
- 50 CFR 17.11: Endangered and threatened wildlife Zoo, university or veterinaryCurrent federal Endangered Species Act list.
- Species+ (UNEP-WCMC and the CITES Secretariat) Zoo, university or veterinaryThe official database of species listed under CITES.
- USFWS International Affairs: CITES Zoo, university or veterinaryFederal agency that issues CITES permits.
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Poultry Zoo, university or veterinaryThe Merck Veterinary Manual: a standard veterinary reference written and reviewed by veterinary specialists.
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Management of zoo animals Zoo, university or veterinaryThe Merck Veterinary Manual: a standard veterinary reference written and reviewed by veterinary specialists.
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Nutrition: exotic and zoo animals Zoo, university or veterinaryThe Merck Veterinary Manual: a standard veterinary reference written and reviewed by veterinary specialists.
- EAZA Best Practice Guidelines — Vietnam pheasant Zoo, university or veterinaryAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) Peer-reviewed researchInternational scientific taxonomy used here for classification.
- Wikipedia (species article) Community referenceFree encyclopedia; useful overviews with their own citations. Intro text is quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) Peer-reviewed researchThe standard global bird checklist maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; used here for complete species lists of widely kept bird families.
- iNaturalist (captive observations) Community referenceCommunity observation platform run by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic; observations marked captive show animals living in homes, zoos and aquariums.
