The female silver pheasant (right) that has developed male characteristics. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, April 8: In a rare phenomenon, a female silver pheasant at Tata Steel Zoological Park is growing male feathers of late.

The phenomenon has been attributed to hormonal changes with the advancing age of females in the species, believe experts.

A species in which the males are the proud owners of brightly coloured feathers, the females are the more dull ones with brown feathers in place and just a small crest right on top of their heads.

At present, the brown female silver pheasant has been caught with a number of silver feathers, which traditionally belong to the males in the species.

“It came as a real surprise. The brown female in the species has today developed a substantial number of silver-coloured feathers,” said M.S. Jain, the zoo director.

According to zoo sources, the bird is currently caught in an identity crisis.

While it hovers around the eggs laid down by other female birds at the zoo, it also chases the females in the ongoing breeding season.

Interestingly, its small brown crest has also started taking a more concrete size and is today a full-grown black sturdy crest.

“The changes are only behavioural, the morphological changes are all that are exhibited, the bird would not undergo a sexual orientation change,” Jain added.

The number of silver pheasants at the zoo are three, with a pair of proper male and female present at the zoo, the third bird happens to be the one with a confused identity at the moment.

With only morphological changes currently being seen in the bird, the pheasant can mate normally with a male in the species given the fact that the sexual changes in the bird are yet to be manifested.

Now standing at the ripe age of 12 years, the pheasant looks all set to lead a life of mixed identity till it is alive.

A similar instance where a female bird was seen exhibiting male features was reported recently at the Lucknow zoo.

“Such birds continue to live the life of both the male and the female in the species. While at times its behaviour is akin to a male, there are times when the same bird would behave like a female too,” added the zoo director.