The
Phasianidae are a
family of heavy, groundliving
birds which includes
pheasants,
partridges,
junglefowl,
chickens,
Old World quail, and
peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular
gamebirds. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two
subfamilies, the
Phasianinae, and the
Perdicinae. Sometimes, additional families and birds are treated as part of this family. For example, the
American Ornithologists' Union includes
Tetraonidae (grouse),
Numididae (guineafowl), and
Meleagrididae (turkeys) as subfamilies in Phasianidae.
