Lophura nycthemera
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera) is a species of pheasant found in forests, mainly in mountains, of mainland Southeast Asia and eastern and southern China. It is introduced on Victoria Island in Nahuel Huapi Lake, Neuquén, Argentina and on Vancouver Island, Canada. The male is black and white, while the female is mainly brown. Both sexes have a bare red face and red legs (the latter separating it from the greyish-legged kalij pheasant).
The silver pheasant was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other pheasants in the genus Phasianus and coined the binomial name Phasianus nycthemerus. He specified the type locality as China. The specific epithet nycthemerus combines the Ancient Greek νυξ/nux, νυκτος/nuktos meaning "night" with ἡμερα/hēmera meaning "day". The silver pheasant was formerly sometimes placed in the genus Gennaeus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 2 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 3 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Silver Pheasant sighting in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 292nd most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Silver Pheasant in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Silver Pheasant sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Silver Pheasant sightings, Doi Inthanon National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Khao Yai National Park (Thailand, about 20%), Cuc Phuong National Park (Vietnam, under 5%) and Nahuel Huapi National Park (Argentina, under 5%).
Same family: Phasianidae
The closest relatives of the Silver Pheasant that you can see in Doi Inthanon National Park (family Phasianidae, Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies) are Rufous-throated Hill Partridge (about 30%), Green Peafowl (about 10%) and Red Junglefowl (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Silver Pheasant is recorded against all the birds logged in Doi Inthanon National Park (23 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
