pheasant
n. countablen. a large bird with a long tail and bright feathers. People often hunt them for sport or eat them as food.
n. a large, long-tailed galliform bird of the family Phasianidae, native to Asia but widely introduced elsewhere for hunting and food. Often associated with rural estates and traditional game cookery.
A colorful pheasant ran across the road into the tall grass.
The restaurant specializes in seasonal game, serving roasted pheasant with a side of wild berries and root vegetables.
As we walked through the autumn woods, the sudden, noisy flush of a pheasant from the undergrowth startled the entire group and sent the dogs into a frenzy.
From Middle English fesaunt, fesant, from Old French fesan, from Latin phāsiānus, from Ancient Greek φᾱσιανός (phāsianós), meaning “[bird] of the river Φᾶσις (Phâsis)”, from where, it was supposed, the bird spread to the west. Replaced native Old English wōrhana, a variant of mōrhana. More at moorhen.
The plural can be either 'pheasant' or 'pheasants' when referring to the birds as game.