Silver Pheasant

The zone of occasional or potential overlap between Kalij and Silver Pheasants (as currently understood) runs vertically on a map from western Yunnan Province in southern China south through eastern Myanmar, through northern and central Thailand.  The populations west of this area are classified as Kalij and those to the east as Silver.  In most areas, location is sufficient for identification—in some cases, location is more reliable than appearance due to the internal variability of each species and their overall similarity to one another.

Confusion is most likely in the mountain forests from Yunnan to Chiang Mai (Thailand), where their normal ranges may be separated by only a few miles, and occasional intermingling occurs, though in most such areas observers will likely have the benefit of local knowledge to understand which race is expected there and which others occur in nearby areas.

Males of the highly similar races have black underparts, white upperparts that are variably covered with fine black vermiculations, medium-to-short tails (by Silver Pheasant standards) that match the upperparts, and a black topknot.  As a general rule of thumb, male Silver Pheasants show more contrast: they have whiter upperparts and the black vermiculations stand out as lines, whereas male Kalij Pheasants appear partly gray unless seen at very close range.

Females of both species vary less than males, but overlap more in appearance.  Most female Silver Pheasants are plainer brown than their Kalij counterparts, and show far less prominent scaling or barring.  However, the most heavily patterned female Silvers are essentially identical to the least heavily patterned Kalij Pheasants, and probably would not distinguishable unless accompanied by a male—but this would not necessarily be a reliable indicator, as they have been known to hybridize.