Various Peacock Pheasants

The use of these beautifully marked feathers has been only in recent years. I'm not aware of any antique flies that used them, either as full feather wings or as cheeks or sides as is the current fashion. Paul Schmookler and Ingrid Sills, in their superb work, Rare and Unusual Fly Tying Materials: A Natural History Volume 1 states "Peacock-pheasant body feathers were historically never used in salmon fly dressings until 1981 when the senior author (Paul) created the Purple Leopard with feathers from the Malayan Peacock-pheasant. one of seven species of Peacock-pheasants."

The last 20 years or so have brought several species of those birds from being extremely rare to where they are raised in captivity in the U.S. on a regular basis. The birds are still quite expensive to obtain but fortunately for us they molt their feathers on a annual basis or in some unfortunate cases die of natural causes. These birds are worth more alive than what their feathers would bring in a realistic market. I've been able to secure limited quantities of their feathers at a relatively low cost and am passing that along to you.

Pictured above are the four species I currently have. Simply click on the name in the menu bar to the left to purchase them.