Black Pheasant Pheasant is a large, long-tailed game birds with unique characteristics. Phasianus diverged from the genus Gallus, the genus of junglefowl and domesticated chickens, about 20 million years ago. These large, beautiful pheasants feature an iridescent, greenish-black plumage. The males are usually larger than the females and also have longer tails. The remainder of the habitat should include some wetlands, grassland, and woodland or brushy thickets. Prime habitat consists of 55-70 % crop fields such as corn, soybean, or small grains. A favorite variety for release, they display a remarkable ability to survive and reproduce in the wild. The genus name comes from Latin phasianus, "pheasant". The males have highly decoration with bright colors and adornments such as wattles. The black pheasant I've seen were originally developed in France, and are black, showing little of the background colour as in melanistics. The species name colchicus is Latin for "of Colchis" (modern day Georgia), a country on the Black Sea where pheasants became known to Europeans. As shelley says Japanese Greens are darker (and smaller) than the usual pheasant. The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). This melanistic mutant is a pure breed.