Satyr Tragopan
Tragopan satyra
A large pheasant-like bird. Male has a black face with dark blue cheeks and chin, and a grayish-brown back and uppertail. It has white speckling all over, but the male Satyr Tragopan is the only tragopan to have white dots on the red breast. Female is similar in shape, but all brown with thin white streaks on the back and reddish-brown wings. Found in dense forests, where it forages on the forest floor. The call is a nasal, wailing “gwaaahh.”
Taxonomy
In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the satyr tragopan in the third volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Horned Indian Pheasant". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on the head of the bird preserved in alcohol and a drawing of the whole bird that had both been sent to the physician Richard Mead in London. Edwards believed that the specimen had come from Bengal, but this is an error, the specimen probably came from Nepal.<p>When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the satyr tragopan with the wild turkey in the genus Meleagris. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Meleagris satyra and cited Edwards' work. The satyr tragopan is now placed in the genus Tragopan that was introduced in 1829 by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The genus name is from Latin tragopan, a mythical horned purple-headed bird mentioned by the Roman authors Pliny and Pomponius Mela. The specific epithet satyra is from the Latin satyrus meaning "satyr", a Roman deity often depicted with horns.
- Scientific name
- Tragopan satyra
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Tragopan
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Mountain Peacock-Pheasant
Polyplectron inopinatum
Long-tailed, small-headed, maroon-and-gray pheasant. Male has a longer tail than the female, and his green spots are brighter; they gleam like hewn emeralds when he is displaying. Found in foothill and montane forest. Forages quietly on the ground, scratching through leaf litter. Typically shy and very difficult to see; only reliably and easily viewed where habituated.
Southern Tropical Pewee
Contopus cinereus
Small, gray flycatcher lacking strong markings. Note its peaked crown and yellow lower half off bill. Some birds may show faint wingbars and a slight yellowish cast to the belly. Little overlap with other pewees; in the Andes it might be found together with Eastern Wood-Pewee or Western Wood-Pewee during the northern winter. Southern Tropical Pewee has shorter wings, a longer tail, and may show a faint spot between the bill and eye. Voice is the most reliable way to separate them. Listen for an explosive “CHIpeer” as well as a series of sharp chip notes. Typically encountered at forest edge or in clearings. Often perches on an exposed branch, from which it flies out to chase insects in looping, acrobatic sallies.
Speckled Wood-Pigeon
Columba hodgsonii
Uniquely colored large pigeon of mid- to high-altitude broadleaf and mixed forests. Grayish overall, with a deep maroon back, ashy gray head, chestnut streaking on the belly, and fine white spots on the upperwing. Usually seen in pairs or small flocks, feeding at fruiting trees. Listen out for its call, a deep, booming ‘Woo-hoo! Hooo…hooo,’ often heard emanating from the canopy.
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