The Blood Pheasant, Ithaginis cruentus is the only species, which belongs to the genus Ithaginis of the pheasant family. There are fifteen different sub species.

The female and the male species of the Blood Pheasant can be easily differentiated. The males have a vivid red coloring on the feathers of the breast, throat and forehead. Females are uniformly coloured and the shades of reddish brown are duller than that of the male. The males and females have a distinct ring of bare skin around the eye that is crimson red in colour. The feet of the birds are also red in colour. The Blood Pheasant is the state bird of Sikkim. This is because the most preferred habitats of the Blood Pheasants are coniferous or mixed forests and scrub areas right at the snowline.