Named for Sarah, Countess of Amherst (1762-1838). William Pitt Amherst, Governor General of India and husband of Sarah, sent the first birds to London in the early 1800s.

These pheasants are built to survive the most severe weather conditions, neither damp nor cold harms them. They live in rocky mountain ridges and avoid dense forests.

They are long-limbed active pheasants and are well adapted to life at high altitudes.

There is only a loose relationship between the sexes and during breeding season the more dominant cocks will mate with several hens. After mating, hens withdraw to lay, incubate and later rear their chicks entirely unaided, the cocks remaining to defend their mating ground fighting furiously with rival cocks. In the autumn, when the young birds are present, they will join together into large parties.

The mating ritual is among the most elaborate of all pheasants. The posturing and dance of the male occurs within a dancing arena in a clearing on the forest floor. This may take place over several hours, with the hen usually selecting the strongest and most brightly coloured cock from the group.