Tetraogallus tibetanus

The skin of the Tibetan Snow Chicken's forehead and eyes is light yellow, the chin, the back of the ear feathers, throat and upper chest are all white, and the rest of the head and neck are dark gray. There is a broad yellow stripe at the junction of the upper back and neck, which is roughly connected to a stripe mixed with gray on the chest. It is covered with fine gray or black-gray powdery spots, and the spots on the back are more densely packed with pink spots. . The back is grey-brown, covered with yellow pink spots on the skin, and the waist and tail feathers are almost brown, also with pink spots. The wing coverts are the same color as the back, but have brownish white with wide feather edges. The primary flight feathers are grey-brown, and the secondary flight feathers have white broad edges, forming large white spots on the wings. The middle part and two flanks are almost white, and the feather edges are black. , forming significant vertical lines.
Male adult birds hav

Distributed in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Tajikistan. Tibetan snow chickens are widely distributed in various regions of Tibet, China, and are also distributed in the high mountain areas of Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but the number is very rare.
Tibetan snow chickens generally live in alpine shrubs, tundra and bare rock areas between the forest line and the snow line at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters to about 6,000 meters. Populations near the edge of the distribution area can descend to 2,000 meters in winter, or even 1,200-1,500 meters to hibernate. There is seasonal vertical migration. They often move in sparse shrubs and alpine tundra meadows with exposed rocks, and often forage near the snow line. They never enter forests and large areas of thick shrubs. They are alpine species, appearing in alpine bare rock areas with snow all year round and rarely visited by people, accompanied by alpine plants such as snow lotus, and ar

Tibetan Snowcock, also known as Tibetan Snowcock in English, has 6 subspecies and is similar in shape to domestic chickens.

Tibetan snow chickens like to gather in groups, mostly in small groups of 3-5. In areas with high density, you can see large groups of 10-20 or even nearly 100. They are active during the day, from dawn to dusk, and often walk up the mountainside to forage until the top of the mountain. They rest by the rocks around noon and comb their feathers. They are timid and alert, and will flee immediately if they find danger from a distance. They have strong wings and are good at flying, but they often run away when they encounter enemies, and only flap their wings and take off when they have to. When they escape, they sway, a bit like the walking posture of a goose. Their tail is particularly straight, showing the white undertail coverts. They do not set up "sentries" when foraging, but when they rest during the day, the old birds stand on high rocks to "keep sentries" and make long and loud calls when they find enemies.

Tibetan snow chickens are good at walking and gliding, and have strong adaptability to the natural conditions of the mountains. They can mix with alpine ungulates such as argali and blue sheep in areas with 30 cm of snow, turn over plants under the paths stepped by wild sheep, peck at plant bulbs, tubers, grass leaves and small animals, etc., and sometimes go down to the herdsmen's tents to forage. When night falls, they hide under the rocks to spend the night. Due to its own protective color, it will lie still when in danger and is difficult to be found. It is very flexible when running on the rocks on the hillside. It is also capable of flying and gliding. It flies heavily and quickly, and can fly from one hilltop to another, or fly over several hilltops in succession. It is often accompanied by a "ga, ga" sound when flying. Breeding birds repeat their screams day and night, and the sound is like gu-gu-gu-gu.

The Tibetan snow chicken's diet is mainly plant-based, and it occasionally pecks insects and small invertebrates. Food includes alpine plants such as sedge, needle grass, Tibetan figwort, bluegrass, snow lotus, pearl buds, dandelions, and oats.

The Tibetan snow chicken enters its breeding season from April to May every year. At this time, the male birds become extremely active, frequently making rapid and high-pitched courtship calls accompanied by flapping wings, especially in the early morning. The group gradually disperses and pairs up. The mates are monogamous. In order to compete for territory and mates, male birds often peck each other on rocks, colliding with their chests until the other is defeated. When courting, the male bird leans forward, with its tail upturned and fanned out, and its neck stretched forward, chasing the female bird. After mating, it begins to build a nest. The nest is very hidden, placed in the grass in the cracks of bare rocks, in the cracks and caves under the cliffs, and is very simple, disc-shaped, with hay, moss, animal hair and its own belly feathers inside. There are shrubs and weeds around the nest. The nest is very simple, with only a little hay, wool and feathers inside. The size of the nest is 40-47 cm in diameter and 8-10 cm deep. Each nest lays 4-7 eggs, up to 13 eggs, one egg every 1-2 days, and all eggs are laid in 10-15 days. After all eggs are laid, they begin to incubate. The color of the eggs varies greatly, including gray-brown, light yellow-white, olive brown and leather yellow, with earthy brown or reddish brown spots on them, more pointed and less blunt. The average size of the egg is 57.4-68×40.3-45 mm, and the average weight is 52.3-56.4 grams.

The incubation process is entirely undertaken by the female bird, while the male bird is on guard and guarding in the nest area. When there is an intruder, the male bird keeps singing loudly to lure the intruder out of the nest area. Except for going out once a day to forage for about half an hour, the female bird spends the rest of the time incubating in the nest. The length of the incubation period of Tibetan snow chickens varies in different regions, 27 days in Tibet, 26 days in Xinjiang, and 19-22 days in Gansu. The chicks hatch as early as early June. When they are just hatched, they weigh 75 grams, are covered with black ephedra yellow feathers, have black beaks, and light yellow legs. They can walk on the ground one day after hatching, and can forage with the female bird on the third day. At night, they can spend the night in a sheltered place with their parents. They can fly two weeks after hatching.

There are about 200,000 Tibetan snow chickens in Tibet, with a maximum density of about 0.06 per hectare; the total number in Qinghai is as high as more than 1 million, with a density of 0.27 per hectare in typical habitats; while the density in southern Xinjiang and western Sichuan is slightly lower, at about 0.01 per hectare. Since the 1970s, the number of Tibetan snow chickens has declined, especially in areas with developed transportation and large populations.

The main natural enemies of Tibetan snow chickens: lynx, fox, eagle, vulture, and armed poachers. They are hunted as a medicinal ingredient. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Tibetan snow chicken meat is nourishing and strong, calming and detoxifying, so it is used.

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC).

Listed in China's National List of Key Protected Wildlife (February 5, 2021) Level 2.

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