The kalij pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have an at least partially glossy bluish-black plumage, while females are overall brownish. Both sexes have a bare red face and greyish legs (the latter separating it from the red-legged silver pheasant).[2] It is generally common and widespread, though three of its eastern subspecies (oatesi, lineata and crawfurdi) are considered threatened and moffitti is virtually unknown in the wild.[2]
The name is also spelt kaleege in old texts, such as Game Birds of India and Asia by Frank Finn,[3] though no longer in his Indian Sporting Birds.[4] It has also been introduced to Hawaii, where it is considered an invasive species because it consumes and disperses seeds of invasive plant species.
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