English name: Tibetan Snowcock
Tibetan Snow Chicken (scientific name: Tetraogallus tibetanus) has a body length of 53 cm and a body shape similar to that of a domestic chicken. The head, chest and occiput are gray, the throat is white, the eyebrows are pale, the white ear feathers are sometimes dyed yellow, and there are white round patches on both sides of the chest. The exposed skin around the eyes is orange. The wings are gray and white with fine lines, and the tail is gray and the feather margins are russet. The underparts are pale with black fine lines. The subspecies changed from the western named subspecies with darker color and black spots on the throat to the eastern subspecies Qinghai subspecies and Sichuan subspecies with lighter color and lighter yellow skin.
Inhabits rocky alpine meadows and rocky beaches, reaching as high as 4,500 meters above sea level in summer and as low as 2,500 meters above sea level in winter. Likes to be in groups, active during the day, from dawn to dusk, often walking up the mountainside for food until the top of the mountain. Timid and alert in temperament, he flees when he sees danger from a distance. Pecking at the bulbs, roots, grass and small animals of plants. Distributed in the Himalayas, from the Pamirs to the Mishumi Mountains and the entire Tibetan Plateau.
【Distribution】
Distributed in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Tajikistan. Tibetan snow chickens are widely distributed in various regions of Tibet, China, and are also distributed in the alpine areas of Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, and Sichuan around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, but the number is very rare.
【Reproduction method】
The breeding season begins from April to May every year, when the male birds become extremely active, and they frequently send out rapid and high-pitched beeps. Courtship calls are accompanied by flapping wings, especially in the early morning. Groups are also gradually dispersed and paired. The mates are monogamous. In order to compete for territory and mates, the males often peck each other on the rocks and collide with each other until the other side is defeated. When courting, the male's body leans forward, the tail is upturned and fanned out, and the neck is stretched forward, chasing after the female. After mating, they start to build their nests. The nests are very hidden and placed in the grass in the cracks of bare rocks, in the crevices and caves under the cliffs and rocks. The nests are sheltered by shrubs and weeds. The nest is very simple, with only a little hay, wool and feathers in it. The size of the nest is 40-47 cm in diameter and 8-10 cm deep.
Each litter lays 4-7 eggs, up to 13 eggs, one egg is laid every 1-2 days, and all eggs are laid every 10-15 days. The color of the eggs varies greatly, including gray-brown, yellowish-white, olive-brown, and yellow-skinned, etc., with earth-brown or reddish-brown spots on them, more tips, and fewer blunt ends. The average egg size was 57.4-68 x 40.3-45 mm and the average weight was 52.3-56.4 g.
The hatching process is entirely undertaken by the female bird, while the male bird guards and guards the nest area. The female birds hatch in the nest except for going out once a day and foraging for about half an hour. The incubation period of Tibetan snow chickens varies in different regions, 27 days in Tibet, 26 days in Xinjiang, and 19-22 days in Gansu.
Chicks hatch as early as early June. It weighs 75 grams when it is just hatched, and is covered with black enameled down feathers, with a black mouth and pale yellow legs. It can walk on the ground one day after hatching, and can feed with the female bird on the third day. At night, the parent bird spends the night in a sheltered place, and can fly after two weeks after hatching.
【Population Status】
Total in Tibet About 200,000, the highest density is about 0.06 per hectare; the total number in Qinghai is more than 1 million, and the density of typical habitats is 0.27 per hectare; while the density in southern Xinjiang, western Sichuan and other places is slightly Low, about 0.01 per hectare. Since the 1970s, the number of Tibetan snow chickens has declined, especially in areas with developed transportation and large populations.
The main natural enemies of Tibetan snow chickens: lynx, fox, eagle, vulture, and poachers. Hunted as a medicinal ingredient, traditional Chinese medicine theory believes that Tibetan Snow Chicken is nourishing, strong, calming and detoxifying, and thus is exploited.
The species has a wide distribution range and is not close to the critical value standard for vulnerable and endangered species survival (the distribution area or fluctuation range is less than 20,000 square kilometers, habitat quality, population size, and fragmentation of the distribution area), population trends Stable, so it is rated as a species with no existential crisis.
【Protection level】
Included in China's national key protection level: Level 2; Effective date: 1989 Included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ) 2013 Red List of Threatened Species ver 3.1 - Low Risk (LC).
Features
Tibetan Snow ChickenThe forehead and eyelid are pale yellow, and the chin , The back of the ear feathers, the throat and the upper chest are all white, and the rest of the head and neck are dark gray. At the junction of the upper back and the neck, there is a broad leather-yellow band, which is roughly connected with a gray band on the chest. It is covered with gray or dark gray powdery spots, and the spots on the back are more dense . The back is gray-brown, covered with yellow spots on the skin, the waist and tail feathers are nearly brown, and also have pink spots. Wing coverts the same color as the back, but with brownish white, broad feather margins, primary flight feathers gray-brown, secondary flight feathers with white broad edges, forming large white spots on the wings, the middle and both flanks nearly white, feather margins black , forming prominent longitudinal striations.
Male adults have smaller forehead, eye and ear feathers. Earthy brown, dark brown before the eyes, earthy brown on the back and waist, lighter brown on the upper back, forming a light-colored band, down to the side of the chest, gray-brown upper tail coverts, dark brown tail feathers, all slightly decorated with black spots, two wings The coverts are the same as the back, but the margins on both sides of each feather are white or brownish-white, forming prominent longitudinal stripes. The primary flight feathers and the cover are tan, and the outer edges of the flight feathers and the outer coverts are mixed with black-brown beetle-like spots. The throat and front neck are white, the chin is brown, the front neck has a gray-brown belt ring, the upper chest and the back are the same, and also form a ring, the lower chest is milky white, and the feathers are black on both sides, so the chest and abdomen are white. And with black stripes, the tail coverts are white, and the inside is slightly black. Adult females are similar in body color to males, but have no tarsus.
The upper body of the juvenile is similar to that of the adult, with brownish brown below the eyebrows, earthy brownish white throat, yellowish white below the hind breast, and individual feathers on both flanks have black vertical stripes on one side. The iris of Tibetan snow chicken is brown to reddish brown, the corners of the mouth are purple, the base and the wax film covering the nostrils are orange-red, the eye circumference and eyelids are slate blue, and the tarsus and tarsus are dark orange-red or dark red. Iris dark brown; bill yellow; feet red.
Size measurement: body weight ♂1500-1755g, ♀1170-1600g; body length ♂490-570mm, ♀510-638mm; mouth peak ♂29.7-32.0mm, ♀28.7mm; wing ♂265-283mm , ♀250-270mm; tail ♂163-174mm, ♀160-176mm; tarsal ♂60.3-61m9m, ♀58.7-59.2mm. (Note: ♂male;♀female)
【Habitat】
Tibetan Snow ChickenGenerally inhabits the alpine shrubs, tundra and bare rock areas between the upper line of the forest and the snow line at an altitude of 3000 meters to about 6000 meters. . There is seasonal vertical migration. It is often found in sparse shrubs and alpine tundra meadows with bare rocks, and often forages near the snow line. Never enter forests and thick thickets. It belongs to the alpine species. It is found in the alpine bare rock areas with snow all year round and rare human beings. It is accompanied by the alpine plant snow lotus and is a representative species of alpine animals.
【Life Habits】
It likes to live in small groups of 3-5 animals. In high-density areas, large groups of 10-20, or even as many as nearly a hundred, can be seen. Active during the day, from dawn to dusk, often walking up the mountainside for food until the top of the mountain. Rest by the rocks around noon and groom your feathers. Timid and alert in temperament, he flees when he sees danger from a distance. They have strong wings and are good at flying, but they often run and run away when they are attacked by enemies, and only take off when they have to. When escaping, they sway and sway, slightly like a goose's walking posture. There are no "posts" when eating, but when they are resting during the day, the old birds stand on the high rocks to "post", and when they find enemies, they will make a long and loud chirping sound.
Tibetan snow chicken is good at walking and gliding, and has strong adaptability to the natural conditions of high mountains. , rummaging through the plants under the path traversed by the wild sheep, pecking at the bulbs, roots, grass blades and small animals of the plants, and sometimes going down to forage near the herdsmen's tents. When night falls, they hide under rocks for the night. Due to its own protective color, it is difficult to be found when it is in danger. Very nimble when running on hillside rocks. The ability to fly and glide is also strong. The flight is heavy and fast. It can fly from one hill to another, or fly over several hills in a row. The flight is often accompanied by the sound of "quack, quack". Breeding birds neigh repeatedly day and night, with a sound like gu-gu-gu-gu.
The feeding habits of Tibetan snow chickens are mainly plant, and they also eat insects and small invertebrates occasionally. Foods include sedge, stipa, Tibetan Scrophularia, bluegrass, snow lotus, polygonum bulbifera, dandelion, oat and other alpine plants.
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