Lady Amherst's pheasant is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khrusolophos, "with golden crest". The English name and amherstiae commemorates Sarah Amherst, who was responsible for sending the first specimen of the bird to London in 1828. Lady Amherst's pheasant is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.