Lophophorus lhuysii

The male green-tailed pheasant has black feathers on its forehead and the lower edge of its nostrils, and the naked part in front of its eyes is sky blue; the top of its head, the lower part of its face and the ear feathers are metallic green; short crest feathers rise from the back of its head and cover its neck. It is bronze in color; the back of the neck, sides of the neck and upper back are reddish copper; the upper body is coppery or green copper, the lower back and waist are white; the lower body is black; the tail is blue-green.
The upper body of the female bird is dark chestnut, with pale white lines and yellow skin spots, the lower back and waist are white; the bare part around the eyes is almost white; the lower body is brownish gray, mixed with white fine spots; the tail is dark brown, with brown horizontal spots.
The iris is brown; the corners of the mouth are black; the corners of the legs and feet are gray.
Size measurements: Body weight ♂2050-3250 g, ♀1650-3220

The Green-tailed Pheasant is a bird species endemic to China, and is only found in the mountainous areas of southeastern Qinghai Province and southern Gansu in southwestern China, and in the mountainous areas of Baoxing, Kangding, and Pingwu in Sichuan.
It inhabits alpine meadows, shrubs, and bare rock areas at an altitude of about 3,000-5,000 meters above the forest line. It especially likes alpine shrubs and shrub meadows with steep cliffs and rocks. In winter, it often descends to the forest edge shrub areas at about 3,000 meters.

The Chinese Monal is a diurnal animal, often moving in pairs or small groups, and sometimes in larger groups of 8-9 to more than 10 in winter.

The Chinese Monal is a diurnal animal, often moving in pairs or small groups, and sometimes in larger groups of 8-9 to more than 10 in winter. Active during the day, they like to appear in mountain ridges and roost in dense bushes or on low branches of trees at night. They are alert and will stretch their necks to watch if there is any movement. If they find danger, they will immediately hide in the bushes or run away. They are resident birds. They have strong legs and feet and are good at running. They can fly from low to high altitudes with the help of the upward force of air currents when flying, which is rare in other chickens.

The Green-tailed Pheasant is a typical herbivorous bird that feeds on fruits, seeds and berries of plants. They feed on underground parts such as roots, rhizomes and bulbs of plants in high-altitude alpine meadows and bushes. They mainly use their powerful beaks to dig out tubers and peck at them, and rarely use claws to dig for food. Their hooked, thick and powerful beaks have also evolved to adapt to this kind of life. According to observations by mountain people in the distribution area, this species likes to eat the corms of Fritillaria cirrhosa very much, so in the local area, the local name of this species is Fritillaria cirrhosa chicken. In winter, due to the thick snow in the mountains, it is difficult to find gravel, so it eats charcoal, so it is also called "charcoal chicken". Because its beak is very strong and the front end is curved and hooked, it is called "eagle chicken". The foraging area is mostly in the forest edge shrub meadow area. It often walks up the hillside from the bottom and forages while walking. The main food types are grass jade plum, donkey hoof grass, primrose, sheep bud grass, needle bud grass, goldenrod, wild onion, moss, etc.

The green-tailed rainbow pheasant likes to sing in spring and summer. The male bird often sings at dawn on a protruding rock near the top of the mountain. The call is elegant, gentle, continuous, and varied, repeating the sound of "guli..." The female bird sometimes makes the same call. When the male bird is showing off, it makes a short "guo-guo-guo" call, and when it is frightened, it makes a low "geee" call. Occasionally, in winter, it makes a monotonous "a...awu, a...awu" sound. The female bird can also make a variety of calls, which can be heard far away in the foggy mountains.

The breeding season of the Green-tailed Rainbow Pheasant is from April to June. Some male birds start to estrus in January, but most of them are in estrus in April and May. At this time, the male bird can perform a special courtship flight, which glides down from the steep cliff, with its tail feathers spread out, circling first, then diving again, accompanied by sharp calls. Nests are built in forests with sparse vegetation under the forest. The nests are mostly placed on the ground or in large tree holes under the cover of rocks, shrubs or trees. The nests are relatively simple, usually in a slightly concave pit on the leaf litter. Each nest lays 3-5 eggs, the color of the eggs is brown or yellowish brown, with purple or brown spots. The incubation period is 28 days.

The green-tailed rainbow pheasant is one of the most difficult birds to raise in the world; Beijing Zoo first raised and exhibited the green-tailed rainbow pheasant in 1958, and successfully bred it in 1980. Beijing Wildlife Park has the world's largest artificial breeding breeding group, with a total of 13. According to research by the Beijing Zoo, under artificial breeding conditions, the green-tailed rainbow pheasant lays eggs and reproduces between April and May each year, with 3-5 eggs per nest. The eggs are dark brown and covered with purple spots of varying sizes.

The Green-tailed Pheasant is also an extremely rare species, endemic to China. There are still a certain number of them in some parts of Sichuan, with a density of 0.01-0.1 per hectare, and even fewer in the marginal areas of its distribution, with no more than 200 in Gansu and less than 100 in Tibet. In 1983, statistics were collected in Jiajin Mountain, Baoxing County, Sichuan Province, with a sample size of 50 square kilometers, 32 males, 34 females, and 12 young birds, with a male-female ratio of 1:1.08; an adult-young ratio of 5:1; and a density of 1.32 birds per square kilometer. In 1984, statistics were collected at Chaping Mountain on the border of Beichuan County and Maowen County. The sample area was 45 square kilometers, with 30 males, 34 females, and 12 young birds. The male-female ratio was 1.25:1; the adult-young ratio was 4.5:1; and the density was 1.32 birds/square kilometer. According to the survey, the number of green-tailed pheasants in Baoxing area has been reduced by about half since the 1980s. The yak grazing area is constantly expanding, making the habitat of green-tailed pheasants smaller and smaller.

Endangered factors of the green-tailed pheasant: Habitat destruction and illegal hunting are the biggest threats to the green-tailed pheasant. The suitable habitat for the green-tailed pheasant is high-altitude meadows and shrubs. The ecological carrying capacity of these habitats is poor. The grazing and herb-collecting activities of local mountain people have caused a certain degree of damage to their habitats. In addition, due to the large size of this species, it is one of the food sources of local mountain people, so it is threatened by hunting.

On July 3, 2019, 12 green-tailed pheasants survived after rescue protection breeding at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. A total of 7 survived in 2019. In 2017, there were only 11 individuals left in the captive population worldwide. In 2019, the number of hatched individuals and hatching rate increased by 40% and 15% respectively compared with last year. The hatching technology is more stable and mature, laying a solid foundation for the stable growth of the population.

In April 2022, biodiversity monitoring personnel of the Siguniangshan National Nature Reserve Administration discovered the green-tailed pheasant while sorting out the data of the infrared camera installed at an altitude of 4,300 meters. In May 2022, when the staff of the Songpan Management Station of the Giant Panda National Park sorted out the infrared cameras installed in the Songpan area, they found that the same infrared camera set up at the same location in Baiyangwakou captured the national first-class protected animals, golden monkeys, takins, green-tailed pheasants and forest musk deer. On June 17, 2022, the Xichang Aiyakang Bird Ecology Museum, located in a small fishing village in the Qionghai National Tourism Resort in Xichang City, Sichuan Province, opened. At the opening ceremony, the announcement of listing the Green-tailed Pheasant, a national first-class key protected species, as the city bird of Xichang was read out.

Listed in the endangered level of the "Washington Convention": Appendix Ⅰ (effective year: 1997)

Listed in the Chinese national key protection level: First level (effective year: 1989)

Listed in the Chinese Red Book of Endangered Animals: Endangered (effective year: 1996)

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

Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021) Level 1.

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