Syrmaticus mikado
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The Mikado pheasant (Syrmaticus mikado) is a species of gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. Sometimes considered an unofficial national bird of Taiwan (along with the Swinhoe's pheasant and Taiwan blue magpie), a pair of Mikado pheasants and Yushan National Park, one of the areas it is known to inhabit, is depicted in the 1000 dollar bill of the New Taiwan dollar.
The Mikado pheasant is endemic to mountainous regions of Taiwan. The species occupies dense shrubs, bamboo growth and grassy terrain with conifer overstory in central and southern Taiwan, from 2000 to 3200 meters above sea level.
With the tail included, males of this species get to be up to 70 cm in body length, while the smaller females measure up to 47 cm. The male is dark with plumage that refracts with blue or violet iridescence, with white stripes on its wings and tail. The female is brown and speckled with brown and white quills. The long and striped tail feathers of the male were used by the Taiwanese aborigines as a head-dress decoration. The type specimen of the pheasant comprises two such tail feathers obtained... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Gatwala Wildlife Park | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 3 | Taipei Zoo | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 4 | Tallinn Zoo | 🇪🇪 Estonia | |
| 5 | Toledo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Cherkasy Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 7 | Zoo Koki (Parque zoológico y botánico) | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mikado Pheasant sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 344 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 87th most-seen of the 147 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–June, August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mikado Pheasant in Taroko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July, September and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mikado Pheasant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Taroko National Park, in our data
Taroko National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Mikado Pheasant sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Phasianidae
The closest relatives of the Mikado Pheasant that you can see in Taroko National Park (family Phasianidae, Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies) are Taiwan Bamboo-Partridge (about 20%) and Taiwan Hill Partridge (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mikado Pheasant is recorded against all the birds logged in Taroko National Park (344 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.
