Pheasants are shy, charming birds known for their brilliant plumage. These beautiful birds occupy an important niche in nature’s scheme of things. Of the 900 bird species and 155 families, the pheasants belong to the order Galliformes and family Phasianidae. The Galliformes are known as game birds and this includes, pheasants, partridges, quails, grouse, francolins, turkeys and megapodes. There are 51 species of pheasants in the world and these are shown in the identification chart brought out by the Environment Society of India (ESI). The purpose of this chart is to create awareness among members of the school eco-clubs under the National Green Corps (NGC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Except for the Congo Peafowl, all the other pheasants are from Asia. Scientists believe that all pheasants originated from the Himalayas, and then scattered into Tibet, China, Myanmar, South and South East Asian countries as well as the Caucasus Mountains. The jungle fowl and the peafowl spread to South India and Sri Lanka long before the early settlers established themselves in the Indo-Gangetic plain. About a third of all the pheasants in the world are found in India. The male blue peafowl (the peacock) is the best known member of the pheasant family and is India’s national bird. It occupies a prominent place in India’s art, culture and folklore.

The energy stored in coal and petroleum originally came to the earth from the sun. The bulk of the present-day supplies was laid down some 200 to 600 million years ago, when tropical conditions were widespread. Lush, swampy forests produced huge trees; warm coastal seas swarmed with microscopic forms of life. When these organisms died, much of their tissue was recycled as it is today — through scavenging and decay. But a significant amount of dead plant and animal material was covered with mud, which prevented complete decomposition. With the passage of time, layer upon layer of the fine sediment was deposited over the once-living material; the sheer weight turned the sediments to rock. Sandwiched between the layers, both coal and petroleum were produced and preserved under pressure. Coal was formed mostly of giant fern-like plants that have only small counterparts today. Coal may still be forming here and there on earth, but conditions are not right for the production of significant quantities.