The Blood Pheasant of Himalayas

In the fantastic Himalayan range of India, Nepal and Bhutan a tiny and quick tailed pheasant is extremely widespread which is recognized as Blood Pheasant. The Blood Pheasant is the state bird of the Indian state of Sikkim. The organic habitat, where the Blood pheasants reside, are the Northern mountain ranges of Nepal , Sikkim ( India ) , Myanmar , Tibet ,Bhutan and the south-central China.

The Blood Pheasant is scientifically known as Ithaginis. Image : Dhritiman Mukherjee

The Blood pheasant of Himalayas is purely a snow-bird which occupies the coniferous scrub lands and they move in a convoys with the season variations. Generally, the Blood Pheasants are located at higher elevations in the course of the summer time. With snow rising in fall and winter they move to lower elevations.The face and throat of the Blood pheasant are corrosive whilst the back of the neck is usually gray. The rest of the physique is streak gray, white and buff. Both males and females have red feet and a distinct ring of bare skin about the eye but Females are more uniformly colored, becoming all round dull brown and typically with some gray to the nape.

The Blood Pheasant of Himalayas  is scientifically identified as Ithaginis cruentus and the average size for male is of 42 cm and for female is of 38 cm. The Blood pheasants are despite the fact that excellent runners but they are not specialist fliers. In the month of Could, the female lays generally 6-7 extended oval eggs which are pinkish or yellowish white in color. The chicks of the Blood Pheasants are observed in the month of June and live in a covey till winter.

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Cheer Pheasant of Himalayas

Cheer Pheasant of Himalayas is a rare bird in the household of Phasianidae which is though doesn’t have magnificent colors like other pheasants, however it has a special gray plumage and gray crest. Cheer Pheasant is scientifically identified as Catreus wallichi which is an endemic species of the Western Himalayas. Their population is broadly distributed from north Pakistan, via Kashmir into Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India, and east to central Nepal. The Cheer Pheasant is currently evaluated as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.

Catreus wallichi, Cheer Pheasant ( Image : Lophura on flickr )

The Cheer Pheasant lives in the dense grasslands and rocky terrain having shrubs. Some of their population is observed in the confier, juniper and broadleaf trees. The female Cheer Pheasant lays 8-12 eggs in the breeding season. The female is slightly smaller sized in all round size.  The beautiful lengthy tail of Cheer Pheasant has 18 brown feathers with the central tail feathers which are comparatively longer.

Cheer Pheasant is a uncommon bird in the family of Phasianidae

Habitat loss which has occurred due to the overgrazing and fire is the significant threat to the population of Cheer Pheasant of Himalayas. Cheer Pheasant is also ruthlessly hunted for meals and eggs. The grasslands are quickly becoming converted into arable terraces. The permanent ban on the hunting of Cheer Pheasant and the suitable conservation of their natural habitat is quite a lot important for safeguarding the Cheer Pheasant from ultimate extinction.

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