The western tragopan or western horned tragopan (''Tragopan melanocephalus'') is a medium-sized brightly plumed
pheasant
Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...
found along the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
from north-eastern districts of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
province in northern
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in the west to
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
within
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to the east. The species is highly endangered and globally threatened.
Identification
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
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
. Females have pale brownish-grey upper parts finely
vermiculated
Vermiculation is a surface pattern of dense but irregular lines, so called from the Latin ''vermiculus'' meaning "little worm" because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts, or worm tracks in mud or wet sand. The word may be used in a number of ...
and spotted with black, and most of the feathers have black patches and central white streaks. Immature males resemble females, but are larger with longer legs and a variable amount of black on the head and red on neck.
Males weigh and females weigh .
[''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), .] The males vary in length from while the females are .
Distribution
Five populations are known from
Kohistan
Kohistan ( fa, کوہستان, ), also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston, Quhistan, may refer to:
In Afghanistan
*Kohistan District, Kapisa, Kapisa Province
** Kohistan Hesa Awal District, a district in Kapisa Province, created within the form ...
and
Kaghan valley
The Kaghan Valley ( ur, ) is an alpine valley located in the Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The valley covers a distance of across northern Pakistan, rising from its lowest elevation of to its highest point at the Babusar ...
in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and from
Kishtwar
Kishtwar is a town, municipality and administrative headquarter of the Kishtwar District in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The district was carved out of the Doda district in 2007. It is located in the Jammu division.
T ...
,
Chamba Chamba may refer to:
People
* Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer
* Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist
Places Ghana
* Chamba, a town in the Northern Region
India
* Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh ...
and
Kullu
Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Va ...
districts of India as well as from an area east of the
Satluj
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the In ...
river in India. They are found from an altitude of 1,750 to 3,600 m, going higher in summer. Their preferred habitat is the dense understorey of temperate, subalpine and broad-leaved forest.
Habitats
It inhabits upper
temperate forest
A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest biome on our planet, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers abou ...
s between 2,400 and 3,600 m in summer, and in winter, dense coniferous and broad-leaved forests between 2,000 and 2,800 m elevations. The western tragopan is mostly arboreal but feeds on the ground. They feed mostly on leaves, shoots and seeds, but also consume
insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
and other
invertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
. Like most pheasants, they roost in trees singly or in pairs except during nesting.
During display, the males show the throat inflated into lappets that appear purple with pink margins. They also display blue horns with a fancied resemblance to those of the Greek mythological god
Pan, whence the name ''tragopan'' (''tragos'' "goat" + ''Pan''). During the display they call and the song is a loud two-note ringing ''wou-weee'' which is repeated every second for long periods. The
breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
season is May and June. They build their nests in low tree hollows.
They are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance and avoid disturbed habitats (for instance, hydro-electric project development sites).
[Jolli, Virat & Pandit, M. K. (2011). "Monitoring pheasants (Phasianidae) in the Western Himalayas to measure the impact of hydro-electric projects". The Ring 33: 37-46. ]
Status
![Rekong Peo to Sarahan 052](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Rekong_Peo_to_Sarahan_052.jpg)
The western tragopan is considered the rarest of all living pheasants. Its range is very restricted. In the Kashmir valley, it is known as ''daangeer'', in Chamba as ''phulgar'' and in the
Kullu valley
Kullu Valley is a broad open valley in Himachal Pradesh, India, formed by the Beas River between Manali and Larji. This valley is famous for its temples, beauty and its majestic hills covered with pine and deodar forest and sprawling apple orc ...
as ''jujurana'' ("king of birds"). It was accorded the status of state bird of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
in 2007.
The population of the western tragopan is threatened by several
anthropogenic
Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to:
* Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity
Counterintuitively, anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows:
* Human im ...
factors throughout its range. The world population is estimated at fewer than 5,000 individuals, including a
captive breeding
Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species that ...
population in
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
which numbered fewer than ten pairs in 2012.
CITES
CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
has listed this species in Appendix I in order to discourage selling of its feathers. Representing the endemic bird area D02 of Western Himalaya, the western tragopan has been described as a range-restricted species.
Gallery
File:DodoMansur.jpg, by Ustad Mansur
Ustad Mansur (flourished 1590-1624) was a seventeenth-century Mughal painter and court artist. He grew up during the reign of Jahangir (r. 1605 - 1627) during which period he excelled at depicting plants and animals. He was the earliest artist t ...
1625
File:WestTragopan.jpg, by D G Elliot 1872
References
* Rasmussen, P.C & Anderton, J. C. (2005) Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions.
External links
Home of Western Tragopan(Government of Himachal Pradesh )
{{Taxonbar, from=Q845992
western tragopan
The western tragopan or western horned tragopan (''Tragopan melanocephalus'') is a medium-sized brightly plumed pheasant found along the Himalayas from north-eastern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northern Pakistan in the west to Ut ...
Birds of Pakistan
Birds of North India
western tragopan
The western tragopan or western horned tragopan (''Tragopan melanocephalus'') is a medium-sized brightly plumed pheasant found along the Himalayas from north-eastern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northern Pakistan in the west to Ut ...
western tragopan
The western tragopan or western horned tragopan (''Tragopan melanocephalus'') is a medium-sized brightly plumed pheasant found along the Himalayas from north-eastern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northern Pakistan in the west to Ut ...
Symbols of Himachal Pradesh