Pheasants and Partridges (Phasianidae)

Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera) - HBW 2, p. 533

French: Faisan argenté German: Silberfasan Spanish: Faisán Plateado

Taxonomy: Phasianus nycthemerus Linnaeus, 1758, China.
Forms superspecies with L. leucomelanos. Previously placed in genus Gennaeus. Many races of questionable validity, based on plumage patterns of male upperparts; seven races, rufipes, occidentalis, ripponi, jonesi, beaulieui, nycthemera and fokiensis, at least, form cline and probably not subspecifically distinct from one another. Fifteen subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

occidentalis Delacour, 1948 - SC China (NW Yunnan) and NE Burma.
rufipes (Oates, 1898) - N Burma in Northern Shan States, between R Irrawaddy and R Salween.
ripponi (Sharpe, 1902) - N Burma in Southern Shan States, between R Irrawaddy and R Salween.

See all 15 subspecies

occidentalis Delacour, 1948 - SC China (NW Yunnan) and NE Burma.
rufipes (Oates, 1898) - N Burma in Northern Shan States, between R Irrawaddy and R Salween.
ripponi (Sharpe, 1902) - N Burma in Southern Shan States, between R Irrawaddy and R Salween.
jonesi Oates, 1903 - SC China (SW Yunnan), N & C Thailand and Burma (South Shan States between R Salween and R Mekong).
omeiensis Cheng et al., 1964 - C China (Sichuan).
rongjiangensis Tan & Wu, 1981 - SC China (SE Guizhou).
beaulieui Delacour, 1948 - SC China (SE Yunnan), N Laos and N Vietnam.
nycthemera (Linnaeus, 1758) - S China (Guangdong and Guangxi) and N Vietnam.
whiteheadi (Ogilvie Grant, 1899) - Hainan I (S China).
fokiensis Delacour, 1948 - SE China (NW Fujian and possibly Zhejiang).
berliozi (Delacour & Jabouille, 1928) - C Vietnam, on W slopes of Annamitic Mts.
beli (Oustalet, 1898) - C Vietnam, on E slopes of Annamitic Mts.
engelbachi Delacour, 1948 - Bolovens Plateau, S Laos.
lewisi (Delacour & Jabouille, 1928) - SW Kampuchea and SE Thailand.
annamensis (Ogilvie Grant, 1906) - S Vietnam.