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PHEASANTS OF PAKISTAN.

PHEASANTS OF 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 .

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PHEASANTS OF PAKISTAN.

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  1. PHEASANTS OF PAKISTAN.

  2. PHEASANTS IN PAKISTAN Pheasants are colourful birds & they refer to any member of the subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes Common male pheasant

  3. 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

  4. Scientific classification • Kingdom: Animalia • Phylum: Chordata • Class: Aves • Order: Galliformes • Family: Phasianidae • Subfamily: Phasianinae

  5. Cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichi) • Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus) • White crested kalij (Lophura leucomelana) • Western tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus)

  6. Cheer Pheasant( Catreus wallichi )

  7. 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.

  8. 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

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus)

  15. 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.

  16. Male and Female of Himalayan

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  21. 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.

  22. 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.

  23. Western Tragopan. (Tragopan melanocephalus)

  24. 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.

  25. Western Tragopan Male and Female

  26. 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.

  27. Feeding: • They mostly feed on leaves, shoots, seeds, but also consume insects an other invertebrates. Western Tragopan

  28. 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.

  29. 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.

  30. White-crested Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos hamiltonii)

  31. Distribution: • The White-crested Kalij Pheasant is one sub-species 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.

  32. 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.

  33. Male Kalij Pheasant.

  34. 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.

  35. 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.

  36. 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.

  37. 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.

  38. 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.

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