Lophophorus sclateri

The male white-tailed pheasant has a small tuft of black feathers with a blue-green metallic luster on the top of the head, ear feathers and the lower edge of the nostrils; there is a short and curly crest on the top of the head, which is metallic green. The back and sides of the neck are copper-colored; the face is mostly bare, the color is sea blue, the upper back and shoulders are brilliant blue-green, and the shoulders are decorated with brilliant purple; the lower back, waist and upper tail coverts are pure white, and the upper tail coverts have black feather shafts; the tail is brown with a wide white end spot. The base of the tail feathers is black with white horizontal stripes and brown and white spots; the small and middle coverts on the wings are metallic bronze with a red copper luster. The large coverts and inner secondary flight feathers are metallic blue-green; the primary flight feathers and outer secondary flight feathers are black, and the edges of the outer vanes are

The white-tailed pheasant is distributed in northwest Yunnan and southeast Tibet, China, as well as northeastern India and northeastern Myanmar, and is divided into two subspecies. The male of the nominate subspecies has a longer white tail tip and the female has a longer beak. In China, it is only distributed in Medog, Milin, Zayu and other places in southeastern Tibet; the male of the sub-subspecies of Yunnan has a shorter white tail tip and the female has a shorter beak. In China, it is only distributed in Tengchong, Lushui, Fugong and Gongshan in northwest Yunnan.
It mainly inhabits alpine forests and forest edge shrubs and grasslands at an altitude of 2500-4000 meters, especially in subalpine coniferous forests, alpine bamboo forests, rhododendron shrubs and other areas. Sometimes it also moves in alpine grasslands and weathered bare rock areas.

The white-tailed pheasant is called Sclater's Monal in English. It has three subspecies and is a large chicken.

White-tailed pheasants mostly move alone. In the winter in Gaoligong Mountain, Yunnan, a group of 9 was seen living together. The time period and altitude of male bird activities have certain rules. At 3300 meters above sea level, the male bird was observed and sang 3 times from 10:00 to 12:00; at 3450 meters, it was 11:00 to 17:00, with a relatively concentrated time of 12:00 to 14:00, and 25 times; at 3600 meters, it was 12:00 to 17:00, with a relatively concentrated time of 14:00 to 16:00, and 14 times. Analyzing these data, it can be preliminarily inferred that there is a vertical migration phenomenon of male white-tailed pheasants at an altitude of 3300-3600 meters, but due to the lack of data below 3300 meters, the daily activity pattern of white-tailed pheasants cannot be determined.

The activity height of white-tailed pheasants is 3400-3500 meters above sea level, with more traces of white-tailed pheasants' activities, which is a densely used zone. In this altitude area, the main upper layer plants are Fargesiu orbiculata, mixed with a small amount of Rhododendron sinogande, the ground is covered with herbaceous plants, and there are some open areas under water-eroded valleys and ridges. The feeding habits of the white-tailed pheasant were investigated using the activity area sampling method, that is, first use a telescope to observe the activities, and when it leaves, make a sample plot survey at the location where it stayed for a long time. The food type was determined by judging the feeding traces and collecting the food samples that had been eaten. Two small sample plots of 2 meters × 2 meters were investigated at the altitudes of 3400 meters and 3500 meters respectively. The investigation found that the main plant foods of the white-tailed pheasant include Fritillaria cirrhossa, Allium wallichii, Aralia apioides, Notopteryium forrestii, Lilium souliei, Climtonia udensis, etc.

The White-tailed Pheasant often moves in small groups except during the breeding season. It is active during the day and roosts on low branches or rocks at night. It is alert and timid, and it is difficult to approach. If you try to get close to a Screech Pheasant, the pheasant will stop singing and fly down the mountain after noticing. The White-tailed Pheasant often moves on the ground between woodlands and bamboo forests. It is not found that it has a special mating flight during the breeding season like the Brown-tailed Pheasant and the Green-tailed Pheasant. It often swoops down from the protruding rocks on the top of the mountain and circles in the valley.

The White-tailed Pheasant makes a sharp cry when it alarms. The call is a wild whistle go-li…. The male white-tailed pheasant is called "calling chicken" by the locals. It usually makes a "aou..." sound; when it is startled and flies up, it makes a "hu..." sound. It is a paroxysmal call, that is, 3-15 call syllables are strung together in a group, lasting a total of 18-77 seconds. The duration of a single call plus the interval time is (6.16±0.26) seconds, and there is a longer interval between groups, (2949±379.8) seconds. The altitude distribution of the call location In April-June, the call location of the white-tailed pheasant appears at 3300-3600 meters, and 3450 meters is the concentrated zone.

The occupation behavior reflected by the call location of the male bird At each listening point, only one male white-tailed pheasant can be observed calling every day, and the call location is relatively fixed, that is, the sand ditch head near the ridge or the clearing in the forest. By analyzing the location and time distribution of male calls, we can draw a preliminary conclusion that each male white-tailed pheasant occupies one moraine erosion valley during the breeding season. There are 11 sand ditches in the 8km2 study area, all of which have traces of white-tailed pheasant activities. The preliminary calculation of the male bird density is 1/0.7km2. According to the male-female ratio of 1:1.07 (He Finch, 1991), the breeding bird density is estimated to be about 1 pair/0.7km2.

After late April is the breeding season of white-tailed pheasants. Male white-tailed pheasants also have the habit of "occupying the mountain as king" like most other birds in this season. They rely on singing to maintain their home territory. Following the frequent "territorial declarations" issued by male white-tailed pheasants, white-tailed pheasants are not difficult to be found. In the breeding season, they are mostly single or in pairs, and in winter they are in groups, with the largest group of 9. They start breeding in April every year, and the breeding period is from April to June. They build nests in rock crevices or tree holes. They lay 2-5 eggs per nest under fallen trees or in tree holes on the ground in the forest, and the average egg size is 63.2 mm × 45.4 mm.

The main cause of the endangerment of the white-tailed pheasant is habitat destruction, local forest loss, and hunting for food. Predation by natural enemies such as birds of prey and small carnivores limits the development of its population. The white-tailed pheasant mainly lives in a narrow area above 3,200 meters above sea level between short-sheathed bamboo forests and subalpine meadows in Gaoligong Mountain. The climate is cold, with strong winds, rain and fog, and the capacity for animals is naturally low. The white-tailed pheasant is large, clumsy, and has a strong daily activity pattern, making it easy to be hunted by humans and natural enemies. These are considered to be inherent risk factors for the species. Its population status can be considered as one of the indicators of ecological monitoring in the region.

According to a survey conducted by He Fenqi in Yunnan, China from May to August 1985, the population density was 1 pair/1.0-1.2km2 in Biluo Snow Mountain and 1 pair/0.8-1.0km2 in Gaoligong Mountain. The top priority is to protect the habitat of the white-tailed pheasant. Establish several nature reserves in important production areas.

Listed in CITES Endangered Level: Appendix I, effective date: 1997

Listed in China's National Key Protection Level: Level I, effective date: 1989

Listed in China's Red Book of Endangered Animals: Rare, effective date: 1996

Listed in the "Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union" (IUCN) 2016 ver 3.1-Vulnerable (VU).

Protect wild animals and stop eating game.

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