Lady Amherst's Pheasant

This feather comes from one of the most beautiful birds in the world. The male Lady Amherst's Pheasant is a riot of color, featuring a silver-and-black cape, a green chest, and a tail that can reach 3 feet in length. This specific feather provides the 'zebra-striped' accent to the bird's tail display.

Base color is a brilliant pure white, strikingly contrasted by bold, dark brownish-black horizontal wavy bars or chevrons. The bars are slightly irregular and serrated at the edges.

Pennaceous and tightly interlocked throughout most of the vane for structural integrity, with a small plumulaceous (downy) section at the very base near the calamus.

Smooth, stiff, and somewhat glossy. The surface is flat and designed for display, with a slightly waxy feel characteristic of ground-dwelling game birds.

Bold black-on-white horizontal barring, stiff rachis, and the pure white ground color which distinguishes it from the buff-toned feathers of the related Golden Pheasant.

Dense bamboo thickets, coniferous forests, and rocky scrublands at high elevations (2,000 to 4,500 meters).

Native to southwestern China and far northern Myanmar. Feral populations exist in parts of the United Kingdom, though these are declining.

High-altitude seed and insect eater; they serve as important prey for Himalayan predators and help in seed dispersal within bamboo ecosystems.

Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) feathers are similar but typically have a buff or yellowish-orange tint in the white areas and different barring density.

The bird is named after Sarah Amherst, the wife of William Pitt Amherst, Governor-General of Bengal, who sent the first specimens to London in 1828.

Fair to Good. There is visible mechanical wear (splitting of the barbs) near the tip and mid-vane, likely due to contact with vegetation or handling.