Brown eared-pheasant  (Crossoptilon mantchuricum)

Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List 2007 (1) and listed on Appendix I of CITES (3).

A unique feature of eared-pheasants (Crossoptilon spp.) is that males and females are virtually identical, even more remarkable as the plumage is highly specialised and ornamental (4). This large pheasant has a velvety black head and neck, gradually shading to a deep brown on the body and whitish on the lower back and rump, which extends into a long soft white tail, broadly tipped in black (4) (5). The bare facial skin and legs are a crimson-red, but the bird is most notable for its prominent white cheek tufts that extend from the base of the bill, somewhat resembling an up-turned moustache (4) (5). The male is slightly larger than the female, but can only really be distinguished by its spurs, which are larger and rounder at the base than the hen’s (4) (5) (6).

Endemic to northeast China (5).

The brown eared-pheasant breeds in montane broad-leaved and mixed coniferous forests up to 2,600 metres above sea level, but in winter, moves to lower altitudes, down to 1,100 metres above sea level, where it occupies scrub at the forest edge on south-facing slopes (2) (5).

Eared-pheasants are gregarious birds, typically living in flocks of ten to thirty or more for much of the year, and separating into monogamous pairs in spring (4) (7). The breeding season starts in mid-March, when pairs move to higher altitudes and establish and defend well-sheltered territories with good food supplies (7). The courtship display of the cock consists of much running around and calling, with wings lowered, tail raised up, scarlet face wattles extended and the neck rounded (4). Nests are made on the ground in a protected spot, into which clutches of four to twenty eggs are laid from early April, and incubated by the female for 26 to 27 days (7).

The brown eared-pheasant is mainly herbivorous, using its powerful beak to dig up roots and tubers, but also feeds on stems, leaves, buds, fruits, seeds, insects and worms (4) (7).

Populations appear to be stable or even increasing within protected areas, but declining elsewhere in the face of ongoing habitat loss and hunting (5) (7). The species’ range has been reduced and widely fragmented due to large-scale cutting of trees for agriculture and urban development, and degraded by logging and livestock-grazing (5) (8). As a result, remaining scattered, isolated populations have become more accessible to hunters and highly vulnerable to disturbance caused by grazing (7) (8). Even within protected areas, certain pressures remain. When Wulushan Nature Reserve was established in 1990, a lack of management or staff meant that local communities continued to collected firewood and cut trees illegally, and farmers still use poison bates to hunt common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), which presumably also affects the brown eared-pheasant (7). Egg collection and disturbance by local people collecting fungi are thought to be the cause of high nest failure rates at Pangquangou National Nature Reserve (5) (7).

The brown eared-pheasant is nationally protected in China, and the several nature reserves it occurs in (Luya Shan, Pangquanguo, Tianlong Shan, Wulushan and Xiaowutai Shan) are considered crucial for the protection of the species and its habitat (5) (7). There is even evidence that numbers have increased in Luyashan, Xiaowutai Shan and Pangquangou since the reserves were established. In 1996, the provincial wildlife department in Taiyuan and the headquarters of Pangquanguo National Nature Reserve were requested to stop the mushroom exploitation that was disturbing this species, which they have done (7). Tree-planting and forest management programmes since the 1980s are also likely to have benefited this species in some areas. Additionally, the bird’s biology and conservation are currently being intensively studied in a four-year project (5). There are estimated to be approximately 1,000 brown eared-pheasants in captivity world-wide, including captive populations in Pangquanguo National Nature Reserve, Xiaowutai Shan Nature Reserve, Beijing Zoo, and the Endangered Species Breeding Center and the Institute of Zoology, both also in Beijing (7).

For more information on the brown eared-pheasant see:

• BirdLife International. (2001) Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.

• Endemic: a species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
• Gregarious: tending to form a group with others of the same species by habitually living or moving in flocks or herds rather than alone.
• Herbivorous: diet comprises only vegetable matter.
• Monogamous: mating with a single partner.
• Territories: areas occupied and defended by an animal, a pair of animals or a colony.
• Wattles: bare fleshy skin that hangs from the bill, throat or eye of birds.

1. IUCN Red List (May, 2008)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org
2. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J. (1994) Handbook of the Birds of the World - New World Vultures To Guineafowl. Vol. 2.Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
3. CITES (June, 2006)
   http://www.cites.org
4. Delacour, J. (1951) The Pheasants of the World.Country Life Ltd., London.
5. BirdLife International (August, 2006)
   http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=264&m=0
6. gbwf.org: Dedicated to the Aviculture and Conservation of the World’s Galliformes (August, 2006)
   http://www.gbwf.org/pheasants/brown_eared.html
7. BirdLife International. (2001) Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book.BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
8. Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam (ZMA) (August, 2006)
   http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/zma3d/detail.php?id=132&sort=taxon&type=family