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Around this time of year the annual hunting season ends, and suddenly all the pheasants come out of hiding. For the whole of Spring, male pheasants stake their territory and guard it with their lives until mating season which is around April. The females hang around close by, but are usually hard to see because of their camouflage. The males with their striking colours and long tails, stand for hours each day on a high spot looking over their territory. Every 5-10 minutes they will carry out a blink-and-you-miss-it territory display. It only lasts for a second and although we can hear it clearly, with our slow human eyes it is impossible to see what is happening. Other pheasants can see the display clearly though. They can tell how fit and strong the pheasant is from both the sound and the display.
In slow motion we can also see the dance clearly. The male stretches his neck high, lets out a double note call, then quickly flaps his wings before puffing out his breast and head feathers. This display is called drumming, named after the sound that the pheasant makes by flapping it's wings rapidly. I have slowed the picture down in this video, but kept the sound at normal speed so you can hear what it sounds like. The more I watch this video the more I notice. The power of the drumming at the end is incredible, you can see the strong grip that the pheasant has on the branch, and the draft of wind that moves all the grass behind the pheasant on the lower left side of the video.
I took this video last year, in a quiet valley near my home in Chiba. It was a hot afternoon during Golden Week, and this pheasant was obviously tired as he didn't notice me sneak right up to him!

例年の今ごろ、狩りのシーズンが終わるころにキジが姿を見せるようになります。

繁殖の季節に備えて、キジの雄は自分のテリトリーを他の雄からまもります。
また雌もいつもこの近くにいますが、カモフラージュがうまくてなかなか見つけられません。

長い尾をしている立派の羽の色の美しい雄は、眺めのいい場所を見つけては毎日、何時間もそこに立って数秒間の求愛行動を繰り返します。この一瞬のダンスは５－１０分に一回行います。一瞬すぎて、人間の目ではキジが何をしているのかはっきりは見えないのですがケンケンの音はよく聞こえます。鳥は目がいいから、他のキジにはよく見えています。
この求愛行動は雌に対するプロポーズで、他の雄に自分の力を見せる合図にもなります。一瞬すぎてわからないのですが、ビデオを撮ってスローモーションでみると何をしているのかがはっきりと見えます。動画を撮りましたので、よかったらご覧になってください。

雄は首を伸ばしてケンケンと鳴いて、羽を素早く羽ばたいてから、胸の羽をふくらませます。
物をたたく音みたいなので、キジの求愛行動はドラミング（太鼓たたき）と呼ばれています。
 

Pheasant Dance with Sound

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