Brown Eared Pheasant
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| Crossoptilon mantchuricum Swinhoe, 1863 |
The Brown Eared Pheasant, Crossoptilon mantchuricum is a large, up to 100cm long, dark brown pheasant of mountain forests of northern China. It has stiff white ear coverts behind the eyes, which look like a moustache. The crown is black with red bare facial skin and its tail of twenty-two elongated white feathers is curved, loose and dark-tipped. Both sexes are similar in plumage.
The rarest member in the genus Crossoptilon, its diet consists mainly of roots, bulbs and plant matters. The female lays five to eight large eggs. The eggs are pale stone green in color and take 28 days to hatch.
Due to isolated population, deforestation and still hunted although legally protected by China, the Brown Eared Pheasant is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Crossoptilon mantchuricum. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is vulnerable
