Rust-throated wedge-tailed chicken

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Rust-throated wedge-tailed chicken
Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Chicken birds (Galliformes)
Family : Pheasants (Phasianidae)
Genre : Wedge-tailed chickens ( Tetraophasis )
Type : Rust-throated wedge-tailed chicken
Scientific name
Tetraophasis szechenyii
Madarasz , 1885

The Rostkehl Wedge Tail Chicken ( Tetraophasis szechenyii ) is a Hühnervogel art from the family of pheasant-like . Its distribution ranges from the eastern Himalayas in the extreme northeast of India via Tibet to western China , where it occurs in the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan .

According to some authors, the rust-throated wedge -tailed chicken can be grouped together with the brown-throated wedge-tailed chicken ( Tetraophasis obscurus ), others put both in a super-species .

description

The rust-throated wedge-tailed chicken reaches a length of 63 cm. The tail length is between 142 and 151 mm, the wing length between 216 and 226 mm. The genders do not differ externally.

The head and neck are dark gray-brown, the crown is dashed black. The beak is blackish. A narrow, elongated area around the eye, which looks like a red eye stripe and extends to the ear covers, is not feathered. The iris is maroon. The ocher-colored throat shows a rust-brown spot, especially towards the chin. The front neck and chest are dark gray with arrow-shaped tips that appear stalked by a black shaft. The plumage on the rest of the underside is gray-brown with rust-brown edges and rust-brown to chestnut-colored spots. The front back is dark brown, the rear back, rump and upper tail-coverts are rather gray with fine, dark hems. The shoulder and wing plumage is gray to dark brown and has whitish hems. The control feathers are marbled in dark brown, broadly lined with white and have a subterminal black band that is washed out towards the base and is missing on the middle pair. The legs are reddish brown.

The flight is fast and buzzing and is compared to that of the king hen. The species moves quietly on the ground and is very agile, especially in dense vegetation. When excited, the hood is erected and the tail is spread open at short intervals and closed again.

voice

For this species gocking, sometimes lined up and muffled sounding decoys are described, which are supposed to remind of a black hen and can often be heard at the sleeping places in trees. A sharp whistle is also known, followed by a rrrrrrrt rrrrrrrt .

Distribution and existence

The distribution of the rust-throated wedge-tailed grouse ranges from about 93 ° east longitude in Tibet eastward over the extreme northeast of India to western Sichuan. To the north the species can be found there up to the border with Qinghai , to the south the area extends to the Yulong Xueshan in Yunnan . The monotypic species is not considered threatened by the IUCN .

Way of life

The rust-throated wedge-tailed grouse can be found at altitudes over 4500 m on the edge of the tree line, where it occurs in the tongue-shaped foothills of the high forest. Most of the food is sought by scratching on the ground in their vicinity; the birds are rarely found more than 300 m away. The main activity is in the morning and evening hours. Family groups of four to six individuals are often found. In winter, the species sometimes migrates to deeper rhododendron and coniferous forests .

The species is monogamous . Nothing is known about courtship and breeding biology. Fledglings have been observed in eastern Tibet between May and August.

literature

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