Cabot's tragopan | |
---|---|
![]() | |
male | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Galliformes |
Family: | Phasianidae |
Genus: | Tragopan |
Species: | T. caboti |
Binomial name | |
Tragopan caboti (Gould, 1857) | |
Cabot's tragopan (Tragopan caboti) is a pheasant found in south-east China. The common and scientific names of this large bird both commemorate the ornithologist Samuel Cabot III. [3] Other common names include the Chinese tragopan and the yellow-bellied tragopan. The population is divided into two subspecies, of which the dominant subspecies is found in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, and T. c. guangxiensis is confined to northeastern Guangxi and southern Hunan. The IUCN has assessed it as being a "vulnerable species".
Cabot's tragopan is a plump ground-dwelling bird with relatively short legs. The male grows to a length of about 60 cm (24 in) and a weight of around 1.4 kg (3 lb) while the female is about 10 cm (4 in) shorter and weighs around 0.9 kg (2 lb). The head of the male is black with reddish-orange streaks on either side and on the neck and similar-coloured bare skin on the cheeks and around the eye. Below the beak dangle blue and orange decorative, inflatable wattles and there are a pair of fleshy blue "horns" over the eyes. The upper parts of the body are reddish-brown, with large buff markings and the underparts are straw-coloured. The female is altogether a less-colourful bird. The head and upper parts are reddish-brown spotted with black and marked with triangular-shaped white patches and the underparts are greyish-brown with white markings. [4]
Cabot's tragopan is endemic to mountain ranges in southeastern China where it is present in the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Its typical habitat is subtropical evergreen forest and other forests with a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees. Its altitudinal range is 600 to 1,800 metres (2,000 to 5,900 ft) and it is also present above the treeline. Populations are fragmented as it has limited ability to disperse and seems not to move across gaps in forest cover of over 500 metres (1,600 ft). [1]
Cabot's tragopan has two recognized subspecies: [5]
Cabot's tragopan feeds mostly on the ground, foraging for roots, shoots, buds, flowers, fruits and seeds. A favourite food is the fruit and leaves of Daphniphyllum macropodum , a small tree which is also used for roosting at night. Small invertebrates are also sometimes eaten. [4]
Breeding takes place in the spring and Cabot's tragopan has an elaborate courtship ritual. The nest is usually built off the ground in a fork in a tree and is made of grasses, mosses, feathers and leaves, but sometimes an empty nest of another bird species is used. A clutch of two to six eggs is laid and incubation is performed solely by the female. The eggs hatch in about twenty eight days and the female broods the young for two or three days after that. They then all leave the nest together, the chicks being able to fly soon after they hatch, and remain together for the winter, possibly joining with another family in a small group. [4] [6]
Cabot's tragopan is assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being a "vulnerable species". This is because it is estimated that there are fewer than ten thousand individuals and that the number of birds is decreasing. The main threat it faces are loss of habitat as natural forest is converted to agricultural land or plantations of conifers and bamboo. This reduces the availability of suitable nesting sites in the forks of trees, but it is hoped that the provision of artificial nesting platforms may help. The bird is present in some protected areas but these are mostly small. Illegal hunting still takes place in some areas. [1] The zoo studbook holder for this species is Zoo Praha.
Bambusa is a large genus of clumping bamboos. Most species of Bambusa are rather large, with numerous branches emerging from the nodes, and one or two much larger than the rest. The branches can be as long as 11 m (35 ft).
The koklass pheasant is a species of gamebird, being closely related to progenitive grouse that lived during the Miocene. They are distantly related to pheasants and are most closely related to grouse and turkeys. Koklass are the only species in the monotypic genus Pucrasia. Both the words koklass and pucrasia have been onomatopœically derived from the bird's territorial call.
Osmanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia with a few species from the Caucasus, New Caledonia, and Sumatra. Osmanthus has been known in China since ancient times with the earliest writings coming from the Warring States period; the book Sea and Mountain. South Mountain states: "Zhaoyao Mountain had a lot of Osmanthus".
Pseudotaxus chienii, known commonly as the whiteberry yew, is a species of plant in the yew family, Taxaceae. It is the sole species in the genus Pseudotaxus, but is closely related to the other yews in the genus Taxus. It is endemic to southern China, occurring in northern Guangdong, northern Guangxi, Hunan, Southwest Jiangxi, and southern Zhejiang.
Acidosasa is a genus of East Asian bamboo in the grass family.
Blyth's tragopan or the grey-bellied tragopan, is a pheasant that is a vulnerable species. The common name commemorates Edward Blyth (1810–1873), English zoologist and Curator of the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Trimeresurus stejnegeri is a species of venomous pit viper endemic to Asia. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
Elliot's pheasant is a large pheasant native to south-eastern China.
The Chinese pygmy dormouse, is a species of rodent of the family Platacanthomyidae found in China and Vietnam.
The white-tailed goldenthroat is a species of hummingbird in the subfamily Polytminae, the mangoes. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
The Hainan partridge is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is endemic to Hainan Island, China. Its natural habitats are primary evergreen forests. It is threatened by habitat loss and has been assessed as a vulnerable species.
The white-necklaced partridge, also known as the collared partridge or Rickett's hill-partridge, is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is endemic to southeastern China. It is threatened by habitat loss and hunting, and the IUCN has assessed it as near-threatened.
The pheasant coucal is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, Timor and New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It has adapted well to canefields in northern Australia. The pheasant coucal is unusual among Australian cuckoos in that it incubates and raises its own young instead of laying its eggs in the nest of another species.
The maroon oriole is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Southeast Asia.
The Chinese hare is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It is found in China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Biston panterinaria is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in China, India, Nepal, Sikkim, Vietnam and Thailand.
Dysosma is a group of herbaceous perennials in the Berberidaceae or barberry family described as a genus in 1928. It is native to China and Indochina.
Acer tutcheri, or Tutcher's maple, is a species of deciduous maple tree native to the Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, south Hunan, south Jiangxi, and south Zhejiang provinces of southern China, as well as Taiwan and certain districts of Hong Kong.
Acer amplum is an Asian species of maple found in Vietnam and China.
Quercus ciliaris is a species of oak native to China in the provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang.