BOURC announces Golden Pheasant status change

Golden Pheasant has been moved to Category C6 of the British list, with the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (BOURC) deeming the species to no longer have a self-sustaining population in the country.

A statement from the BOURC, released on Tuesday [21 May 2024], read: "In 2023 a study exploring the current status of Golden Pheasant in Britain was published surmising that 'there is no evidence to suggest that Golden Pheasants persist in the UK as a self-sustaining population'. The BOURC considered the conclusions drawn by the authors of this work and agreed; accordingly, Golden Pheasant is now moved from C1 to C6: 'Former naturalised species – species formerly placed in C1 whose naturalised populations are either no longer self-sustaining or are considered extinct', where it joins the congeneric Lady Amherst's Pheasant."

Officially, this means that Golden Pheasant is now no longer deemed a self-sustaining wild British bird – and will soon no longer be 'tickable' for British or Western Palearctic birders.

Golden Pheasant is no longer considered to have a self-sustaining British population. This male, photographed in 2023 in Breckland, is bearing a metal ring fitted during the 2023 study (Graham Jepson).

 

No longer tickable

Having first been introduced to Britain in the late 19th century, Golden Pheasant has sat on Category C1E of the British list as a naturalised species since the 1970s – the only country in the Western Palearctic where Golden Pheasant is countable on lists. However, numbers have dwindled in recent decades, and research published in 2023 suggested that the remaining birds do not represent a viable population.

At its peak, between the 1940s and 1970s, the British Golden Pheasant population was believed to number as many as 1,000 individuals. In the traditional stronghold of Breckland, more than 100 could be seen at single sites.

However, the species has declined since then and, today, most free-living British individuals were hatched in cages (such as those on Tresco, Scilly). 

 

Remnant Breckland population

The aforementioned 2023 research involved a survey of the remnant Breckland population in 2022-23, chiefly looking for immatures which may suggest breeding. While a second-year male was discovered, it was one of only four individuals found – three males and a female. It's probable that some or all of these were released and didn't descend from the 'original' Breckland population.

Camera-trap footage reaffirmed that the population was approximately four birds – far fewer than the official British population estimate of 20-30. As a result, the study concluded that no self-sustaining British populations persist and that Golden Pheasant should be moved to Category C6.

The paper cited other extirpated populations in Anglesey, Dumfries and Galloway, the South Downs in Hampshire/West Sussex and North Norfolk. It also discussed a population at Poole Harbour, Dorset – the only place outside Breckland where established Golden Pheasant can be seen in Britain. However, the team concluded that these birds cannot be considered naturalised due to ongoing releases and supplementary feeding.

Brief views of a male Golden Pheasant scuttling across the road at Wolferton Triangle, Norfolk, at dawn or dusk will be familiar to many birders (Carl Wilson).

 

Going, going, gone

As a result and following the BOURC's statement, Golden Pheasant has followed in the footsteps of Lady Amherst's Pheasant, which was placed in Category C6 in 2005 – and like Lady Amherst's has already become, Golden Pheasant will represent a true blocker on the British and Western Palearctic lists in years to come.

The final 'wild' British Lady Amherst's Pheasant resided in Bedfordshire, where it was well twitched until the final sightings in late May 2016. Despite plenty of searching, the bird could not be located in spring 2017.