(1981) there were some areas of suitable habitat extending below 2500 m, suggesting the importance of snow-free winter habitat. Both parents rear the chicks. The genus Puciasia is apparently relatively isolated, and has no close relatives. I believe that the genus is fairly close to the partridge group, and thus probably should for the present be maintained in the relative linear position accorded it by Delacour, namely close to Ithaginis and the tragopans.. Habitats, They are more distantly related to pheasants. The tail is spread fan-like, and is twisted sufficiently strongly toward the target of the display that it follows the same plane of the body-slant. Clutches of eight have also been recorded. This species apparently keeps very close to the same quarters, and may be found morning after morning and evening after evening in the same open glades searching for food. World. She collected the data for this article while on a Fulbright Scholarship in India, where she to be the major requisites for nesting in this species according to Baker. Most probably six is the commonest clutch size, judging from records in the wild, although Howman (1979) suggests that nine to twelve are typical in captivity. The population of the Koklass Pheasant and the rare Kalij Pheasant are the highest known for Pakistan. 16). observed by Gaston et al. Delacour placed it between Tragopan and Lophophorus, mainly because of known hybrids with these two genera as well as with Catreus. This display is otherwise relatively silent, although the male may also assume an upright posture and utter the typical loud crowing call. One of the less colourful pheasants, the koklass exhibits moderate sexual dimorphism. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the third-largest province of Pakistan by the size of both population and economy, though it is geographically the smallest of four. The western tragopan, the State bird of Himachal, looks like a jungle fowl and is secretive and shy. They nest on the ground and spend the nights roosting on trees, or under rock overhangs. The male's territorial call is a distinctive kok-kok-kok- . ... an area which straddles the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Cheng et al. An adult pheasant will require about 5.5 pounds of feed per month to maintain condition. ). The first nidification record was also observed in kalam valley during the study sites where three nests were detected one of Monal pheasant and two of Koklass pheasant. macrolopha In both sexes the head is entirely feathered and many of the body feathers are lanceolate. The birds are monogamous, and apparently remain in pairs throughout much of the year. (1978) reported an average weight for 10 males of 1184 g, and for 10 females of 932 g. They also reported average male wing and tail lengths (all subspecies) of 212.4 mm. For this reason the two subspecies together comprise the greatest proportion of the Pakistan Phasidae and are both relatively common. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. These are: This entry deals with the subspecies P. m. biddulphi, which ranges from Kashmir east to Kullu in India. Both the words Koklass and Pucrasia have been onomatopœically derived from the bird's territorial call. During this phase of their life cycle they live almost exclusively on ants but also are documented consuming catkins, pollen and fruit. Pheasant. In Pakistan, the species is apparently largely restricted to Kaghan valley and Indus Kohistan. (Lophophorus impejanus Latham, 1790), 2. Koklass Pheasant - An Elvis Presley quiff. The males are known to weigh about 1135–1415 g and the females, about 1025–1135 g, with the body length varying from 58–64 cm and 18–22 cm respectively. The numbers of koklass pheasants, Himalayan monal, cheer pheasant and Western tragopan declined significantly with anthropogenic activities. In the hand If we are lucky we will encounter Koklass Pheasant, Upland Pipit or Chestnut-eared Bunting. Baker (1930) says that the nominate race begins laying about the end of April, and continues on well into June. Movements or migrations An official of the wildlife department told The Express Tribunethat pheasant hunting is completely banned across the mountain ranges of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but even then people hunt due to lack of enforcement. Because of its regular morning calling behaviour, censusing of the koklass can be done fairly easily. The first is a harsh, rapid and staccato kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk . In situations of threat the male typically faces the threatening individual, with the ear-tufts held flat, and plumage sleek, the neck and head extended forward to the level of the body, and the tail slightly cocked. Koklass pheasant is a polytypic species, with nine subspecies recognised so far. Text: The Chinese name for this species, 'Sung chi', meaning pine chicken, apparently refers to the tendency of the koklass to roost in pines and to consume its needles (Cheng 1963). Population densities and Conservation Status The koklass (Pucrasia macrolopha) is a species of Galliform, being closely related to progenitive grouse that lived during the Miocene. Koklass are boreal adapted species which separate into three distinct species groups. They are more distantly related to pheasants. J. The last call-type noted by Lelliott consisted of a soft female call uttered in response to male crowing, which he described as a soft oowow or kerwakow. Koklass ( Pucrasia Populations of three pheasant species (Western Tragopan, Koklass Pheasant and Himalayan Monal) were subsequently surveyed in the park during the breeding season (April–May) in 2008. Species specific to the habitat include the colorful Western Horned Tragopan, Cheer Pheasant which is the only member of the genus Catreus, the indigenous Koklass Pheasant, the sharp coloured Monal Pheasant which is also the the national bird of Nepal, Kaleej Pheasant and one specie of the Himalayan Griffon vulture which is the largest and heaviest bird found in the … A female had a wing of 228 mm. the sides of the neck; whole upper plumage silver-grey, a lanceolate streak down the centre of each feather velvety-black, the shafts on the lower back and rump paler; upper tail-coverts more chestnut, the longest almost entirely chestnut with grey tips and with longitudinal broken lines of black; central tail feathers rufous, tipped grey, black-shafted, a well-defined black line and a second, less well-defined line running parallel with the shaft; wing-coverts like the back; the grey edges replaced by rufous-brown, shading into grey; flight feathers brown with broad edges of buff, the innermost secondaries mottled and blotched with velvety-black; foreneck to vent deep bright chestnut, varying considerably in depth and extent but generally covering the greater part of the chest and abdomen; sides of the neck, breast and lower flanks grey, each feather with a central streak of black and those next the breast with the outer web chestnut; under tail-coverts tipped with white spots; vent pale chestnut, the feathers with black bases; thighs dull buff mottled with chestnut. Like the western tragopan, it does not extend its range above the tree line. It is considered as very secretive and ultra-wary by Yonzon and Lelliott (1981), and thus its mortality rate as a direct result of human activities is still fairly low. The Koklass … Therefore Koklas may be considered as the species with the least specific requirements. Survival Commission and Pheasant Specialist Group, July These pines were on a south-facing slope, and were about 30-35 years old, with few shrubs or herbs directly below them. areas the density may even reach more than 20 pairs per km2, requiring territories of about half this size. Gaston 198la] indicated that the calling season lasts from at least November through to May, or longer than any other Himalayan pheasant species he listed except for the cheer. This posture is accompanied by threatening lunges and a continually repeated, subdued, and somewhat melodious chuckling call, chu-cher-ra-ka-pat-tcha. macrolopha biddulphi. observed by Gaston et al. Incubation and brooding Gaston (193la) says that the birds are usually solitary or at most in pairs. In both sexes the flank feathers are rather lanceolate, with dark brown centres and buffy edges, and iridescence is limited to the dark greenish black head of the male. 1930). It was formerly known as north-west frontier province (NWFP), commonly called sarhad in urdu, which means "frontier Its provincial capital and largest city is … The fourth call noted by Lelliott is the familiar crowing call of males, which occurs in many variant forms, as Severinghaus has previously noted. Iris brown, legs grey, bill horny brown (Delacour 1977). 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