The Chinese grouse (''Tetrastes sewerzowi''), also known as Severtzov's grouse or the black-breasted hazel grouse, is a

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondria ...

species closely related to the

hazel grouse The hazel grouse (''Tetrastes bonasia''), sometimes called the hazel hen, is one of the smaller members of the grouse family of birds. It is a sedentary species, breeding across the Palearctic as far east as Hokkaido, and as far west as eastern a ...

. It is a sedentary bird which inhabits conifer-rich mixed montane forests of central

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The bird is very similar in appearance to the

apart from less of a white stripe on the head and neck. The bird is named after a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

and naturalist, Nikolai Alekseevich Severtzov. Chinese grouse is legally an endangered species in China, in the area in which its most centrally located. The population has been declining over the years and is still showing this decrease in numbers. The Chinese grouse has around 10,000 birds currently according to the Nordic Board for Wildlife Research. The main cause of this decline is due to habitat loss by

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 ...

. There are many forestry practices,

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological process ...

, and decrease in area of coniferous forests that contribute to the reasons this species is in decline. Current efforts are being made in China to stop such a dramatic decline in the species such as halted logging of the forests. The complete mitochondrial genome of this species was published in July 2014. Li, Xue-Juan, Yuan Huang, and Fu-min Lei. 2014. Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Bonasa sewerzowi (Galliformes: Phasianidae) and phylogenetic analysis. Zoological Systematics, 39(3): 359–371, DOI: 10.11865/zs20140302

References

External links

*ARKive
images and movies of the Chinese grouse ''(Bonasa sewerzowi)''
Chinese grouse Chinese grouse Birds of China Birds of Asia Birds of Central China Endemic birds of China Chinese grouse Chinese grouse {{Galliformes-stub