Fagiano di Elliot

Identificazione

Males are up to 80 cm (31 in) long; they are brown and white with a black throat, chestnut-brown upper parts, white belly, nape and wing bars, red bare facial skin and long rusty-barred whitish tail. Females are smaller, at 50 cm (20 in) long; they are rufous brown with a blackish throat, whitish belly and less barred tail.

Tassonomia

Elliot's pheasant was first described in 1872 by Robert Swinhoe, under the name "Phasianus ellioti"; the type material was from Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China. The specific epithet ellioti commemorates the American ornithologist Daniel Giraud Elliot; Swinhoe explained his choice thus:

Nome scientifico

Syrmaticus ellioti

Autorità

(Swinhoe, 1872)

Ordine

Galliformi

Famiglia

Phasianidae

Genere

Syrmaticus

Areale e habitat

Elliot's pheasant is endemic to south-eastern China (Guizhou, Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi and Guangdong provinces), where it lives in evergreen and mountain forests at altitudes of 200–1,900 m (660–6,230 ft). Its diet consists mainly of seeds, leaves and berries.

Migrazione

Resident species

Comportamento

Members of this breed are solitary animals, with the males especially being territorial. The courtship ritual involves males offering food and displaying. The average clutch size is between six and eight eggs. Eggs take a little under four weeks to hatch, while juvenile birds take approximately four months to mature.<p>Wild pheasants forage for seeds, berries, leaves, and other similar plant matter. They have also been known to eat ants.

Conservazione

Although there is ongoing habitat loss, and the species has a limited range and is hunted for food, Elliot's pheasant is evaluated as near threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as it does not appear to be declining appreciably in numbers. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.

Tendenza della popolazione

declining