Birdorable Vietnam Pheasant

How can a year both fly by and drag on? Can we all agree that 2021 has been an interesting one? As the weeks wind down, it's time for us here at Birdorable to share a flock of new birds in quick succession. Today marks the start of our 2021 Bonanza! For the next 11 days we'll reveal a brand new Birdorable bird species each day.

And so our 13th annual Birdorable Bonanza kicks off with a critically endangered species found in Asia. Welcome the Vietnam Pheasant to the Birdorable family!

The Vietnam Pheasant is endemic to rainforest habitat in parts of Vietnam. Rare in the wild, the species is part of a cooperative breeding and reintroduction program between several different conservation organizations.

The Vietnam Pheasant joins Birdorable today as our 755th species!

Vietnam Pheasant by cuatrok77
Vietnam Pheasant by cuatrok77 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Tomorrow we'll add a black and white species of duck to Birdorable. This Old World bird has a simple four-letter name. Can you guess the duck?

Cute Vietnam Pheasant Gifts

Our Birdorable Bonanza: 2015 Advent Edition is starting to wind down. Today, on Christmas Eve, we reveal our second-to-last Bonanza bird: the Bulwer's Pheasant!

Bulwer's Pheasant

Bulwer's Pheasants are wildly plumaged chicken-sized birds endemic to Borneo in southeast Asia. They are found in highland tropical forest habitat, where they feed on ants, termites, seeds, and more. This species has several alternate names, including Bulwer's Wattled Pheasant, Bulwer's Fireback, and White-tailed Wattled Pheasant.

Bulwer's Pheasants exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism -- male and female plumage varies significantly. Male Bulwer's Pheasants, like our cute Birdorable version here, have an unmistakable plumage. They have long and puffy white tails. They also have amazing bright blue facial wattles which can be distended during mating rituals. Females, however, have a mostly dull brown plumage.

Photo of a Bulwer's Pheasant
Drawing of a Bulwer's Pheasant

We've almost reached the end of our 25 day Bonanza! Tomorrow's bird is is a small owl that lives in the United States and Canada with a somewhat Christmasy name. Can you guess what it is?

Many countries have an official national bird. For example, the national bird of India is the Indian Peacock, and the national bird of Panama is the Harpy Eagle. All U.S. states also have official birds. But did you know that there are even some cities that have their own official bird? The official city bird of Hanam, South Korea is the Ring-necked Pheasant (also known as the Common Pheasant). Ring-necked Pheasants today can be found almost everywhere, being a common introduced game bird. These beautiful birds are native to parts of Asia, including Korea. Their ability to adapt to a huge variety of habitats has made them extremely popular game birds, and they may be the most hunted bird on earth. At least they get the respect they deserve in Hanam!


Birdorable Ring-necked Pheasant with the emblem of Hanam

On the ninth day of Birdorable, my true love gave to me… 9 Lady Amherst's Pheasants! Our 12 Days of Birdorable continues today with yet another brand new bird species, a beautiful bird of the pheasant family.

Nine Lady Amherst's Pheasants

The line Nine Ladies Dancing in the song “The 12 Days of Christmas” simply refers to, well, nine ladies dancing! We've added the gorgeous Lady Amherst's Pheasant to Birdorable in place of dancing ladies in our 12 Days of Birdorable. Lady Amherst's Pheasants are native to China, with sustaining feral populations introduced elsewhere in the world.

This is the ninth day of our 12 Days of Birdorable holiday event. Previously featured were: