Tetraophasis obscurus

Chestnut-throated Partridge, no subspecies.

Chestnut-throated Partridge is usually found alone or in pairs, foraging in open areas near the forest line. They are good at walking and running on the ground, and also good at gliding in the valleys, but their flying ability is poor, and they rarely take off. When encountering enemies, they often escape to the bushes first to hide, and only in a few cases do they glide from one hillside to another. Their feather color is consistent with the surrounding environment, forming a good protective color. They are timid and afraid of people. When resting, they often hide in the bushes and roost on larger bushes at night.

The call of the red-throated pheasant is a hoarse throat sound, similar to a powerful mixture of bubbles and squeaks. When disturbed, they will make a strong call.

The red-throated pheasant generally does not have a relatively fixed foraging place and route of action. They mostly feed randomly and their range of activities is not too large. They have a strong adaptability to the natural conditions of the mountains and like to drink water by the stream. It mainly feeds on plants, and likes to eat the bulbs, tubers, grass leaves, flowers and seeds of pine trees, wild roses, cinquefoil, wild oats, needle grass, fritillaria, highland barley and other plants. During the breeding season, it also eats a small amount of insects to supplement its food. Food changes with the seasons: the main food in April and May is the root tubers of plants, and there are a lot of fritillaria in the food in August and September. After September, it eats berries, fruits, seeds, etc.

The breeding season of the red-throated pheasant quail is between May and June every year. At this time, most of them move in pairs, and sometimes sub-adults can be seen still forming small groups. The nests are mostly in caves under cliffs or on the ground in bushes and weeds. The ground nest is relatively simple, just a shallow pit on the edge of the rock with a small amount of feathers inside. The size of the red-throated pheasant quail nest is 13-24 cm in diameter and 3.5-7.0 cm deep. Each nest lays 3-7 eggs, which are light yellow to dark brown, with reddish brown spots and patches, and are 44-52×32-34 mm in size and weigh 23-24 grams. The female bird is responsible for incubating the eggs. It is very alert and will fly away from the nest immediately if someone approaches, and will also make a series of screams. After the danger is eliminated, it will return to the nest and continue incubating. Other natural factors, such as rain, snow, and even large hail, cannot make the female bird leave the nest.

The newly hatched chicks have a black-brown beak, chestnut iris, yellow-brown feet, and are covered with down feathers. The top of the head and the upper part of the neck are chestnut, and there is a light yellow-white vertical stripe on both sides of the head. The throat of the lower body is dirty white, and the rest is light gray-brown. The newborn chicks measure 96-125 mm in total length, 9-10 mm in bill, 50-55 mm in wings, 25-28 mm in tail, and 24-28 mm in tarsus. Soon after hatching, chicks can leave the nest with their parents to forage for food. When in danger, the female first screams and flees, and the chicks then scatter and quickly hide in the grass or rock cracks. They only come out of hiding when the female returns and calls after the danger is over.

The density of red-throated pheasant quail in Beichuan and Baoxing, Sichuan, China, is 0.05 and 0.07-0.08 per hectare, respectively (1993). Due to the high altitude of the habitat, the topography and landforms limit the continuous distribution of populations. In addition, the economic activities of humans in the subalpine region are becoming more and more frequent, which makes the living environment more and more threatened and damaged. Poaching and picking up bird eggs also happen from time to time, affecting normal reproduction. The protection of this rare bird should be further strengthened.

Listed in the "Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union" (IUCN) 2016 ver3.1-Least Concern (LC).

Listed in the first level of China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021).

Protect wild animals and stop eating game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!

It is a species endemic to China, mainly distributed in Kangding to Batang in western Sichuan, south of Yushu in Qinghai to northwest Yunnan, and west to Mangkang, Chaya, Jiangda, Qamdo, Leiwuqi, Zuogong, Bomi, Nyingchi, Milin, Langxian and other places in Tibet.
It is a species that lives in the subalpine zone, and its natural environment is also very harsh, mainly in the upper edge of the alpine coniferous forest between 3000-4500 meters above sea level and the rhododendron shrubland above the tree line. In winter, it sometimes descends to the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest belt with a slightly lower altitude. It survives in fir forests, bushes, grass slopes and rocky areas.

The male red-throated pheasant has black nostril feathers, a white forehead with black feather tips, dark chestnut on the top of the head and nape, with black or light olive green gray spots, a white vertical band with scattered black spots behind the eye, extending to the back of the neck, and a vertical band of the same color on each side of the eye starting from the forehead, passing through the corner of the eye, extending to the side of the neck, and connecting to the back of the throat. The ear feathers are dark chestnut. The upper coverts of the back, waist and tail are chestnut with clear and regular black horizontal stripes. There is a longitudinal band of the same color on each side of the eye, starting from the forehead, passing through the corner of the eye, extending to the side of the neck, and connected to the back of the throat; each feather has a narrow light gray feather tip; the outer tail feathers are dark brown, with several narrow white horizontal stripes and feat