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Silver Pheasants (Lophura nyctherama) have been a symbol of a “Starter” species within the Avicultural world for as long as they have been maintained. The beauty of the male is especially eye-appealing in any collection, small or large, with the availability almost being year-round due to how prolific they are. This is where the problem lies, as for the longest time, most of the US have lumped these birds into the SPECIES category without understanding the systematic system.

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Subfamily: Phasianinae

Genus: Lophura

Species: Nyctherama

Now this is where the line has been drawn for many years, mostly due to lack of knowledge within this specific species. SUBSPECIES!!!

To put into perspective, anyone with basic common knowledge on Kalij Pheasants (Lophura leucomelanos) knows White Crested, Nepals, Lineated, Crawfurds and Horsfields, ALL subspecies of leucomelanos. So generalizing Silver Pheasants is exactly the same as generalizing Kalij Pheasants, which for the most part with Kalij most everyone is fluent at knowing the separate subspecies.. I only will describe the 4 Subspecies of Silver Pheasants represented in the United States in captivity, as with a total of 15 subspecies, it could get confusing..

True Silver Pheasants (Lophura nyctherama nyctherama) have been maintained in captivity much longer than any of the other subspecies, as well as being a candidate for the introduction programs during the 60s-70s (Foreign Gamebird Introduction Program). This subspecies is the largest of the 4, as well as being very territorial towards their keeper. The male is the lightest of the 4, with the lacing being very little with the cape of the bird being pure white. The tail is the longest and whitest as well. The hens are solid brown, also being very large and very social birds. Ironically in the past decade this subspecies has become the rarest in pure form with just minimal breeding stock being maintained in a few collections across the US.

Berlioz Silver Pheasants (Lophura nyctherama berliozi), first imported by Jean Delacour and George Allen in the 60s to the US, being completely lost to cross breeding with the nominate form within a decade, with a glimmer of hope was brought back into the US via Europe by James Pfarr around 2013. By 2017 this subspecies had seemed on its way to success but now I've noticed a dangerous decline of the captive population. The male is smaller than True Silver and Jones, as well as being heavy-thin lacing in the cocks, with the lacing in the wing being intermediate between Jones and True Silvers, the cape being white. The females are marked with very uniform markings with white outlining, this marking in core type follows through the throat.

Jones Silver Pheasants (Lophura nyctherama jonesi) are the darkest of the “white” Silver Pheasant group. This subspecies was imported for the first time in US aviculture by James Pfarr in 2011-2012. The captive birds have existed in Europe since the early 1990s. This subspecies has taken hold in several collections that have done an excellent job maintaining them in pure form in the US. The cock is very dark, with wide lacing in the wings as well as lacing through the 3-4 retraces in the tail feathers, the crest is much thicker than previously mentioned species. The hen is more of a olive rich brown color with breast markings similar to Berlioz, but not as uniform with the black being dominant over white in the breast feathers. One observation I have made is that Jones Silvers seem to have the largest geographical variation of and of the Sub-species in the wild.

Lewis Silver Pheasants (Lophura nyctherama lewisi) have been maintained in the US since the early 2000s directly from birds Kurt Landig has imported from two different sources in Europe. The male is very distinguishably dark and impossible to confuse with any of the white forms of Silvers represented in captivity, mostly gray with heavy black lacing in all the feathers. Hens are solid brown with an almost kalij look to their form, very distinctive from the later subspecies. This subspecies is the least prolific taking a minimum of two years to reach sexual maturity in both cocks and hens, and least hardy in cold environments, with protection from harsh weather environments a must.

With all the shown above, I must touch on the most important aspect of maintaining these birds in pure form…..BANDING! It's not a complicated process nor is it expensive, and frankly it's an irresponsible move not to band your birds with even a zip tie to help prevent an accidental mix up. I'll touch on the banding process for just the silvers to stay on topic..

True Silvers: Right Leg- RED Zip Tie, Flat Band or Spiral Band
Left Leg - CLOSED BAND and/or Lineage Color Code Wing Band- L.N.Nycth

Berlioz Silvers: Right Leg- BLACK Zip Tie, Flat Band or Spiral Band
Left Leg- CLOSED BAND and/or Lineage Color Code Wing Band- L.N.BERLI

Jones Silvers: Right Leg- ORANGE Zip Tie, Flat Band or Spiral Band
Left Leg- CLOSED BAND and/or Lineage Color Code
Wing Band- L.N.JONE

Lewis Silvers: Right Leg- YELLOW Zip Tie,Flat Band or Spiral Band
Left Leg- CLOSED BAND and/or Lineage Color Code Wing Band-L.N.LEWI

With all the provided information, one must ask, as aviculturists, why we don't strive to maintain the specimens in pure form? Aviculture is a luxury, and maintaining birds isn't a cheap endeavor. Let's say an individual spends $250 to build an aviary, roughly 10-15 bucks a month to feed the birds, the time you take to care for the birds, the hatching, and the time to get them to maturity, why would someone not want to keep the best possible representation? The money aspect is what will be the death of the hobby, as everyone will pay all those previous costs but still try to find the “Deal” on the birds, which 99% of the time results in hybrids. Reading this, everyone is now asking themselves “how does this pertain to the subject”. Those ‘DEAL’ Silvers are what is directly responsible for the hybridization in the country! If you refer to old literature , silvers were always described as their full taxonomic name, True Silver, Jones Silver, Berlioz Silver, and Lewis Silver. The price shouldn't be a problem if you're already investing in all the rest to care for them and generally PURE subspecies are not much more expensive than the common junk. Hopeful that can help put in one's perspective.

In conclusion, we as a society that strives to upkeep what private aviculture is all about, should set forth and take the responsibility to continue to maintain pure populations, with having a simple banding system. We must look at it as all the opportunity has been handed to us on a Silver platter, with the leg work of the importations already have been done, and this wasn't for one individual's own personal gain, this was for hopes WE as aviculturist in the United States can work together to help undo what has made up the 95% of the hybridized population.

Silver Pheasant Subspecies and Identifying Them in Aviculture