Transcript PHEASANTS IN PAKISTAN.

PHEASANTS IN PAKISTAN
Pheasants are colourful birds & they refer to any
member of the subfamily of Phasianidae
in the order Galliformes
Common male pheasant
CHARACTERISTICS
• Pheasants are characterised by strong
sexual dimorphism.
• Males being highly ornate with bright colours
and adornments such as wattles and long
tails.
• Males are usually larger than females and
have longer tails.
• There are 35 species of pheasant in 11
genera
Scientific classification
• Kingdom:
Animalia
• Phylum:
Chordata
• Class:
Aves
• Order:
Galliformes
• Family:
Phasianidae
• Subfamily:
Phasianinae
•
•
•
•
Cheer pheasant
Himalayan monal
White crested kalij
Western tragopan
(Catreus wallichi)
(Lophophorus impejanus)
(Lophura leucomelana)
(Tragopan melanocephalus)
Cheer Pheasant
( Catreus wallichi )
Morphology
• This is a medium-sized pheasant.
• Sexual dimorphism is slight.
• A large red orbital skin area is present, and the
plumage is generally grey to buffy, with black
barring and spotting.
• The wing is rounded, with the tenth primary
shorter than the first, and the sixth the longest.
• The tail is of 18 rectrices.
• The tail moult in phasianidae (centripetal).
• The tarsus is fairly long, and spurred in the male.
Habitat
• This species occurs over a rather wide altitudinal
range in the western Himalayas
• particularly associated with steep, grass-covered
hillsides having scattered trees.
• Tall grasses, rather than heavily grazed
grasslands, are also preferred, and in Himachal
Pra-desh.
• Its altitudinal range is from about 1200 to 3000
m
Distribution
• In Pakistan this species is now apparently
extirpated
• It was formerly abundant throughout Kaghan
Valleys in Hazara district, the Margala Hills and
also present in Swat and Kohistan.
• the distribution is restricted to several small
pockets in Kashmir and Western India.
Current Status:
•
Their current existence in Pakistan is doubtful.
• Consider to be locally extinct in Pakistan.
Feeding habit:
• Beebe (1918-1922) examined that most of their
food comes from digging with their bills,
during which they obtain grubs, terrestrial
tubers.
• He did find the larvae of cockroaches as well
as several wireworms in one crop,
• Ali and Ripley (1978) suggested that their
major foods are roots and tubers, seeds,
berries and various insects and grubs.
Breeding season:
• The breeding season apparently extends from
late April to early June.
Clutch Size:
• Clutch-sizes are relatively large, with 9 to 10
apparently being the usual size, but as many as
13 or 14 have sometimes been reported from
nests in the wild.
• Nesting-Behaviour:
The nests are usually well hidden in grasses,
bushes or in very broken ground. Some nests
have been found at the foot of nearly vertical
cliffs, and in relatively inaccessible sites.
• Threats:
The ecological niche previously occupied by the
Cheer Pheasant has been filled by the White
Crested Kalij whose requirements are similar in
many respects.
At one point Kalij and Cheer would have
competed for habitats, but with dwindling Cheer
populations, Kalij were quick to take command of
the habitat.
•
Preservation:
• In the 1990's several attempts were made by the
World Pheasant Association and the Capital
Development Authority to rear Cheer Pheasant.
• The project attracted international attention, with
remarkable cooperation from international
captive breeders who worked together to
produce Cheer eggs for shipment to Pakistan.
• Few birds were released in 1978, and 30 more
were put out in 1979 in the vicinity of Dhok
Jiwan, N.W.F.P (Mirza 1981a). 50–60 pairs of
breeding captive birds are very well kept at
Dhodial in N.W.F.P.
Himalayan Monal
(Lophophorus impejanus)
• Local Name: Monal
• Morphology:
• The monals are large pheasants in which the
sexes are highly dimorphic,
• iridescent plumage is extensive in males
excepting the underparts, which are velvety
black.
• Males also have bare, bright blue orbital skin
and crests of varying size and shape.
• The bill is long and highly curved, with the upper
mandible strongly overlapping the lower one.
• The wing is rounded.
Male and Female of Himalayan
• Habitate:
• In Nepal there is an
altitudinal movement
range of from 3200 to
4350 m.
• In the western
Himalayas, seasonal
movements are
probably not so great.
• Distribution:
• In Pakistan this species occurs between 8000 and
12 000 ft in the Himalayas in rocky crags near tree
line (Mirza 198la).
• During winter this species can be located at the
lower end of its altitude.
• The Himalayan Monal is found mainly in the
N.W.F.P, extending eastwards into Kaghan and
Azad Kashmir.
• Sizeable populations are found in Pallas Valley
and Ayubia National Park.
• These birds are limited in coniferous forests of
Chitral, Dir, Swat, Hazara, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit.
• Population Density:
• In some areas of Pakistan it is still fairly
common.
• Current Status:
• The status of this beautiful pheasant is still fairly
secure in many areas.
• A particular problem is that of 'crest-hunting'.
The crest of a male Himalayan Monal is a prized
possession and symbolizes status and authority.
• In Pakistan the Monal is only hunted for their
flesh.
Feeding Behaviour:
• The foods of this species is apparently for
•
•
•
•
tubers, roots, and subterranean insects.
In autumn it is said to forage largely on insect
larvae
other times of the year on seeds ,berries edible
mushrooms, wild strawberries, and the roots of
ferns.
The birds do very little digging with their feet, but
instead pick at the earth with their shovel-like
beaks, sometimes digging holes as deep as a
foot.
The birds typically forage in small groups.
• Breeding Season:
• In India these birds begin nesting primarily in
May, but egg records extend from 20 April to 27
June (Baker 1935).
• Nesting:
• Nests are invariably placed in wooded habitats,
typically in forests having large trees.
• The nest is a simple scrape, often under the
shelter of a bush, a rock, or in the hole of some
large tree.
Clutch Size:
• Clutch sizes in the wild are most commonly of
four or five eggs, with three-egg clutches also
fairly common; sometimes only two eggs are
present.
Incubation:
The incubation period lasts some 26-29 days,
and in captivity females will often lay a second
replacement clutch if the first is removed or
unsuccessful in hatching.
Preservation:
The status of this beautiful pheasant is still fairly
secure in many areas.
Western Tragopan.
(Tragopan melanocephalus)
• Morphology:
• The male is very dark, grey and black with
numerous white spots, each spot bordered with
black and deep crimson patches on the sides
and back of the neck.
• The throat is bare with blue skin while the bare
facial skin is red.
• They have a small black occipital crest.
• Immature males resemble females, but are
larger in size with longer legs and variable
amount of black on head and red on neck.
• The males vary in length from 55–60 cm while
the females are 48–50cm.
Western Tragopan Male and
Female
• Distribution:
• Five populations are known from Kohistan,
Kaghan valley, Kishtwar, Chamba, Kulu.
• They are found from an altitude of 1750 m to
3600 m, going up higher in summer.
• Their preferred habitat is temperate, sub-alpine
and broad-leaved forest.
• Habitats:
• It inhabits upper temperate forests between
2400 and 3600m in summer, and in winter,
dense coniferous and broad-leaved forests
between 2000 to 2800m elevations.
• The Western tragopan is mostly arboreal but
feeds on the ground.
• Feeding:
• They mostly feed on leaves, shoots, seeds, but
also consume insects an other invertebrates.
Western Tragopan
• Breeding Season:
• The breeding season is May-June.
• Nesting:
• They build their nests in low tree hollows.
• Current Status:
• The Western Tragopan is considered as the
rarest of all living pheasants. Their range is very
restricted.
• In Himachal Pradesh, this bird is locally called
Jujurana which means King of Birds.
• Threats:
• Population
is
threatened
by
several
anthropogenic factors throughout its range.
• The world population is estimated at less than
5000 individuals, including a captive population.
• CITES has listed this species in Appendix I in
order to discourage selling of its feathers.
White-crested Kalij Pheasant
(Lophura leucomelanos hamiltonii)
• Distribution:
• The White-crested Kalij Pheasant is one subspecies of the Kalij Pheasant.
• It present in northern Pakistan and the Kashmir
region, northern parts of the Republic of India,
as well some areas of western Nepal.
• It is the provincial bird of the Afghanistan
region.
• It extends from the Siran and Kaghan Valleys in
Hazara district into the Margalla Hills just north
of the capital Islamabad, where it is relatively
common.
Morphology:
•
•
•
•
The feathers on the sides of the breast always
have white shaft-stripes.
Middle pair of tail feathers dirty white.
Facial skin blood-red.
Legs and feet fleshy brown.
Iris brownish yellow.
Male Kalij Pheasant.
• Food and foraging behaviour
• Kalij pheasants are omnivorous, eating almost
anything from bamboo seeds to small snakes
and lizards.
• But have a special fondness for termites, figs,
bamboo seeds, and the roots of a ginger-like
plant.
• A wide variety of foods take, including seeds,
berries, grass, herbs, shrubs, roots, and a
diversity of insects, worms, and larvae.
• Foraging is apparently done in rather small
groups, perhaps pairs and family units.
• They can also dig with their bills for subsurface
materials such as roots and tubers.
• Breeding Season:
• The white-crested kalij is said to breed from
March to June, the Nepal kalij from April to June.
• Nesting Behaviour:
• The nest itself is a slight hollow, usually in an
area of abundant undergrowth, and sometimes
under an overhanging rock, under a bush, or in
a clump of grass.
Clutch Size:
• In nearly all races the usual number of eggs
seems to be 6 to 9.
• Extremely large clutches of up to 14 or 15 eggs
have been reported would seem to be the result
of other modifications of the normal situation.
Incubation
The incubation period may vary somewhat with
climate, perhaps taking an average of 20 days in
the warmer portions of the range and up to 22
days in the higher and cooler elevations (Baker
1930).
• This is performed by the female, with the male
apparently taking no role in protecting the nest.
• Habitats
• The nine subspecies of kalij pheasants
recognized,occur over an extremely wide range
of habitats and elevations, from nearly sea level
to at least 11 000 ft.
Current Status
• Although it is possible that some races of this
species may be rather rare, the total overall
distribution is great, and the birds seem to do
well in a variety of both original and disturbed
habitat types.
• The birds seem to withstand hunting fairly well
(Bump and Bohl 1961).
• Also are highly adaptable and resistant to
habitat changes (Yonzon and Lelliott 1981).
• But, this information is not true for Pakistan,
where the Kalij pheasant has a very limited
habitat and is only locally common.