Blue eared pheasant
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The blue eared pheasant (Crossoptilon auritum), also sometimes hyphenated as blue eared-pheasant, is a large pheasant endemic to China. Although it is considered rare,[2] the blue eared pheasant is evaluated as of least concern.
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| Blue eared pheasant | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Songpan County, Sichuan, China | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Crossoptilon |
| Species: | C. auritum |
| Binomial name | |
| Crossoptilon auritum (Pallas, 1811) | |
Description
The blue eared pheasant is around 96 cm (38 in) long (including the 49–56 cm (19–22 in) tail); males weigh 1700–2110 g, and females 1450–1880 g.[3] It has dark blue-grey plumage with velvet black crown, red facial wattles of bare skin surrounding the eyes, yellow iris, long white ear coverts below and behind the eyes, a pale pink bill, and crimson legs. Its tail of 24 elongated bluish-grey feathers is curved, loose, and dark-tipped, with the outer five pairs of tail feathers having a white base. Both sexes have similar plumage, though the male is slightly larger, and has short spurs on the legs.[3][4]
Distribution
The blue eared pheasant is found in the mountain forests of central China, preferring juniper scrub in alpine meadows at 2700–4400 m altitude.[3][5] Its range is to the northeast of the closely related white eared pheasant C. crossoptilon, and southwest of the brown eared pheasant C. mantchuricum.[5]
Ecology
Its diet consists mainly (about 80%) of berries and vegetable matter; the remaining 20% being insects, particularly beetles.[3]