This species was believed to be the origin of the decorative fantasy pheasants depicted by Chinese artists on rice paper for the European export market. They were thought to be mythical until the naturalist John Reeves (1774-1856) saw the birds in Thomas Beale's menagerie at Macao, and sent specimens to England. By 1868 captive birds were breeding successfully in England, and Gould was able to observe their extraordinary courtship displays, which involved dilating their horns and extending and contracting their immense blue and red wattles. Keepers at the London Zoo described these sudden spontaneous displays as 'like a flash of lightning' or 'like brilliant fireworks'. Thomas William Wood (1833/4-1882) an illustrative artist who specialised in drawing at the zoo made sketches of the wattles during the breeding season for Gould, who, however, thought it was impossible to depict accurately the excitement of the pheasants during display. The pheasant was named in 1856 after the eminent Dutch zoologist, Conrad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858) founder of the Natural History Museum of Leyden.
The male pheasant is depicted nearly lifesize, the female is in the distance.
DISTRIBUTION: Southern Asia: southeastern Tibet and central China east to India, northeastern Burma and northern Vietnam