The Taiwan partridge or Taiwan hill partridge (''Arborophila crudigularis'')
is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
in the family
Phasianidae
The Phasianidae are a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hunti ...
. It is found only in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and its natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
is broadleaf
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s. It is threatened by
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
, but at present is categorised by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
(IUCN) as being of least concern.
Taxonomy
Robert Swinhoe
Robert Swinhoe FRS (1 September 1836 – 28 October 1877) was an English diplomat and naturalist who worked as a Consul in Formosa. He catalogued many Southeast Asian birds, and several, such as Swinhoe's pheasant, are named after him.
Bio ...
described this species in 1864, proposing that it belongs to a new genus, ''Oreoperdix''. The bird had an "ugly raw-looking red patch on the throat".
Swinhoe initially thought that the bird was injured, but found that the patch was natural after close examination. The red patch probably exists only in the breeding season.
A
monotypic species
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
,
it is now placed in the genus ''Arborophila''. The
specific name ''crudigularis'' is from the Latin words for "bleeding" and "throated". A 2015 study suggests that its closest relatives are not in adjacent mainland
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, but in
south-east Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, and that they spread along
continental shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
areas exposed by lowered sea levels during the
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
.
Description
The Taiwan partridge is about long. The male weighs about , and the female weighs about .
The crown is grey. The head has black sides, and a white eyebrow, chin and patch below the eye. The throat is white, and there is a black half collar.
The upperparts are olive-grey with black bars, and there are three grey bars on the rounded, rufous wings. The tail is short and rounded. The underparts are blue-grey, with white streaks on the flanks. The eye is black, with a narrow red ring around it. The beak is blue-grey, and the feet are orange-red. The female bird is similar to the male, but it has fewer streaks on its throat and more streaks on its flanks.
Distribution and habitat
This partridge is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to Taiwan, found in the central and eastern mountains.
It lives in broadleaf forests, preferring thickets and undergrowth. It is found at elevations of above sea level, mainly at .
Behaviour
The Taiwan partridge's voice is a rising and falling series of ''gurru'' calls. Duets and choruses are often heard. Single calls are similar to those of the
black-necklaced scimitar babbler
The black-necklaced scimitar babbler (''Erythrogenys erythrocnemis'') is a species of bird in the family Timaliidae.
It is found in Taiwan. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist ...
.
It forages in groups of two or three birds, eating earthworms, berries, seeds, seedlings and insects. It breeds from March to August, depending on the elevation, and it nests in a crevice or under a tree. There are six to eight white eggs in a clutch, incubated for about 24 days.
Status
The species's population size is estimated to be much more than 10,000 mature birds. It is probably declining outside of protected areas, as a result of
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
. The IUCN downlisted it to a
least-concern species
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
in 2014 because its population and range are larger than earlier estimates. It occurs in several national parks and nature reserves.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:partridge, Taiwan
Taiwan partridge
The Taiwan partridge or Taiwan hill partridge (''Arborophila crudigularis'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in Taiwan, and its natural habitat is broadleaf forests. It is threatened by habitat loss, but at present ...
Birds of Taiwan
Endemic fauna of Taiwan
Taiwan partridge
The Taiwan partridge or Taiwan hill partridge (''Arborophila crudigularis'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in Taiwan, and its natural habitat is broadleaf forests. It is threatened by habitat loss, but at present ...
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot