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The Mikado pheasant (''Syrmaticus mikado'') is a gamebird in the

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. Sometimes considered an unofficial ''national bird'' of Taiwan (along with the

Swinhoe's pheasant Swinhoe's pheasant (''Lophura swinhoii''), also known as the Taiwan blue pheasant, is a bird of the pheasant subfamily in the fowl family Phasianidae. It is endemic to Taiwan. Along with the Mikado pheasant and Taiwan blue magpie, two other Tai ...

and

Taiwan blue magpie The Taiwan blue magpie (''Urocissa caerulea''), also called the Taiwan magpie, Formosan blue magpie (), or the "long-tailed mountain lady" (; Taiwanese Hokkien: Tn̂g-boé soaⁿ-niû), is a bird species in the crow family. It is endemic to Taiwan ...

), a pair of Mikado pheasants and

Yushan National Park Yushan National Park () is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan and was named after the summit Yushan, the highest peak of the park.1000 dollar bill of the

New Taiwan dollar The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dol ...

Distribution and habitat

The Mikado pheasant 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 else ...

to mountainous regions of

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 no ...

. The species occupies dense shrubs,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

growth and grassy terrain with

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

overstory in central and southern Taiwan, from 2000 to 3200 meters above sea level.

Description

With the tail included, males of this species get to be up to 70 cm in body length, while the smaller females measure up to 47 cm. The male is dark with plumage that refracts with blue or violet iridescence, with white stripes on its wings and tail. The female is brown and speckled with brown and white quills. The long and striped tail

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premie ...

s of the male were used by the Taiwanese aborigines as a head-dress decoration. The type specimen of the pheasant comprises two such tail feathers obtained in 1906 by collector

Walter Goodfellow Walter Goodfellow (1866–1953) was a British zoological collector and ornithologist. Career Goodfellow began his career as a wildlife collector by collecting specimens for museums, but later concentrated on capturing live birds for private aviar ...

from the head-dress of one of his porters. It was named in honour of the Emperor of Japan, of which Taiwan was occupied by. Its Chinese name, 帝雉 (''dìzhì'') also translates to "Emperor's Pheasant."

Behaviour

The pheasants will often come out into the open either in light rain or after heavy rain, where the mist conceals them. They tend to be solitary or found in pairs, often quiet, yet alert. They can usually tolerate the presence of humans and it is possible to observe them up close, especially in areas where they have become habituated to humans feeding them. When disturbed, they will slowly and cautiously seek out shelter within surrounding vegetation, rather than fluttering away in panic. If desperate, they will fly short distances, gliding down the mountainside. The males are territorial, with a range of 200–400 metres in radius. Both sexes make soft clucking sounds when feeding, and the males make ''ke, ke, ke'' calls when fighting for their mate or territory. Both sexes may perform a wing-whirring display, and during the breeding season the male performs a lateral running display with his body expanded and tail fanned.

Feeding

The pheasants will often walk and forage for food (a diet of various fruit, leaves, vegetation, seeds and invertebrates) at the same time, in a manner similar to chickens, on the forest floor and mountain trails, especially on rainy and foggy days.

Breeding

The breeding season of Mikado pheasants lasts from March to June. Mikado pheasants build their nests mainly with dead branches, fallen leaves, dry grass and feathers in tree holes or depressions under rocks. Females usually lay three to eight creamy-coloured eggs at one time and it is they who are solely responsible for the incubation of the eggs (which take about 26–28 days to hatch) and the nurture of fledglings, once they are born. The young are usually independent by six months the latest.

Status and conservation

There are some Mikado pheasants bred in captivity, but there are only about 10,000 individuals in the wild, particularly in the

Yushan National Park Yushan National Park () is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan and was named after the summit Yushan, the highest peak of the park.IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. It is listed on Appendix I of

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 intern ...

. Under protection numbers have increased with numbers within Yushan National Park increasing from 5,000 in 1986 to more than 10,000 in 2020. There are also significant recovered populations in Shei-Pa National Park and Taroko National Park.

References

* * Bridgman, C. L., Alexander, P. & Chen, L. S. (1997). Mikado's pheasant home range in secondary growth habitats of Yushan national park, Taiwan. ''Proceedings of the first international symposium on Galliformes'', Kuala Lumpur., * Severinghaus, S. R. (1977). ''A study of the Swinhoe’s and Mikado Pheasant in Taiwan with recommendations for their conservation.'' PhD thesis. Cornell University, Ithaca.

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet

{{Taxonbar, from=Q715266

Mikado pheasant The Mikado pheasant (''Syrmaticus mikado'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. Sometimes considered an unofficial ''national bird'' of Taiwan (along with the Swinhoe's pheasant and Taiw ...

Endemic birds of Taiwan

Taxa named by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant