Mrs. Hume's Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae Scientific name definitions

Male c. 90 cm (tail 40–53·5 cm), 975–1080 g; female c. 60 cm (tail c. 19·5–20 cm) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), 650–850 g. Distinctive upperwing pattern and blackish-blue neck diagnostic in combination; tail elongated with graduated outer rectrices, shorter and blunter-tipped in female (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Female  resembles that of S. ellioti, but paler and has pale fulvous-brown throat; mantle feathers barred black with white centres . Bare parts: bill yellowish horn, bare facial skin red, irides orange to brown (brownest in female  ), legs grey; male  has short tarsal spur, lacking in female (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile like female but duller; young male soon acquires adult tail pattern (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Male of race <em>burmanicus</em> has steel blue of neck slightly more purplish and less extensive (on upper breast and back) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) than nominate; rump whiter (due to broader white bars) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and tail paler.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Inhabits open oak–pine forests with scattered clearings above c. 1200 m in Thailand. Occurs between 1200 m and 2800 m (2 Choudhury, A. (2005). New sites for Mrs Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae in north-east India based on hunters’ specimens and local reports. Forktail. 21: 183–186. Close ) in NE India and Myanmar (3 Robson, C. R., H. Buck, D. S. Farrow, T. Fisher, and B. F. King (1998). A birdwatching visit to the Chin Hills, west Burma (Myanmar), with notes from nearby areas. Forktail 13:109–120. Close ), where occurs in wide variety of forested habitats, including edge habitats abutting abandoned slash-and-burn plots (2 Choudhury, A. (2005). New sites for Mrs Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae in north-east India based on hunters’ specimens and local reports. Forktail. 21: 183–186. Close ), and patches of grass and bracken on steep, rocky hillsides (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Recorded down to 1100 m in Yunnan (SW China) (4 Wu, F., L. Liu, J. Gao, D. Yan, W. Hu, T. Yang, J. Xia, Q. Liu, and X. Yang (2015). Birds of the Ailao Mountains, Yunnan province, China. Forktail 31:47–54. Close ). In Guangxi (S China), affects evergreen, broadleaved and mixed forest (including conifer plantations) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) at 740–3000 m (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Roosts in tall trees, typically c. 3·5 m above ground: study in Yunnan (SW China) identified 20 such sites, of which ten (50%) were oak species (Lithocarpus xylocarpus, L. truncates and L. cleistocarpus), five (25%) were Pinus armandi, two (10%) were Ternstroemia gymnanthera and the others (15%) were Lyonia ovalifolia, Gaultheria leucocarpa var. crenulata and Alnus nepalensis (5 Li, N., Zhou, W., Li, W., Zhang, Q. and Wang, X. (2010). Comparison of roosting habitat characteristics of two sympatric pheasants during springtime at Dazhong Mountain, southwestern China. Chinese Birds. 1(2): 132–140. Close ).

Stated to move uphill to breed, but altitudinal limits in each season not reported.

In China, race burmanicus recorded eating fruits, seeds, leaves, buds and roots of more than 40 plant species, including Pinus yunnanensis (Pinaceae), Cunninghamia lanceolata (Cupressaceae), Cyclobanopsis (Fagaceae), Castanopsis delavyi (Fagaceae), oaks (Quercus, Fagaceae) and wild mushrooms, but main foodplants in Guangxi are said to be Castanopsis eyrei and Eurya groffii (6 Jiang, A., Cheng, Z. and Liang, X. (2012). Discovery of Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. Chinese Birds. 3(2): 143–146. Close ); some insects taken, but in breeding season plants comprise over 97% (dry weight) of stomach contents; those of young birds contained 50–90% insects (dry weight). Probably forages in family groups outside breeding season, keeping close to or within dense grasses and bushes at forest edge (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In China, mainly feeds for three hours between mid and late morning and again for two hours in evening, favouring E- and N-facing slopes in both spring and autumn (7 Zhou, W., Li, N., Deng, Z., Zhang, Q., Li, M. and Wang, X. (2010). Modeling foraging habitats of Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) in Dazhong Mountain, Yunnan, southwestern China. Chinese Birds. 1(4): 236–243. Close ).

Vocalizations apparently similar to S. ellioti including a loud contact “chuck”, a low, muttering “buk-buk-buk-buk” by birds feeding together, and louder versions of the same call are given in alarm, sometimes in the form of a loud screech; males wing-whirr in display; sometimes takes flight uttering a short chuckling note, “pu...pu...” (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close , 5 Li, N., Zhou, W., Li, W., Zhang, Q. and Wang, X. (2010). Comparison of roosting habitat characteristics of two sympatric pheasants during springtime at Dazhong Mountain, southwestern China. Chinese Birds. 1(2): 132–140. Close ). Loud crowing calls, similar to those of Catreus wallichii, have been reported in the literature, but this is apparently erroneous as such calls are otherwise unknown from any member of the genus Syrmaticus (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Lays Mar; in Guangxi, pairing in early Mar, and mating seen in forest glades. Mating system unclear, but polygamy suggested (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Nests of dried leaves and Pinus yunnanensis twigs, liana strands and the bird’s body feathers; nest is c. 25–30 cm in diameter. Clutch of 3–12 creamy to rosy-white (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) eggs; incubation 27–28 days (in captivity) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), by female only.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened, but was formerly regarded as Vulnerable. Mace Lande: humiae endangered, although this based on an estimated population of just 1000 individuals, whereas true numbers seem at least four times greater than this figure (2 Choudhury, A. (2005). New sites for Mrs Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae in north-east India based on hunters’ specimens and local reports. Forktail. 21: 183–186. Close ); burmanicus vulnerable. CITES I. Total population c. 6000–15,000 birds within overall range of 407,000 km²; declining. Based on anecdotal information and recent sight records, Thai population thought to be in low hundreds. In China, at least 22 sites documented, range recently discovered to encompass extreme SW Guizhou (6 Jiang, A., Cheng, Z. and Liang, X. (2012). Discovery of Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. Chinese Birds. 3(2): 143–146. Close ) and population density estimates range from 8·9 to 33 individuals/km² (2 Choudhury, A. (2005). New sites for Mrs Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae in north-east India based on hunters’ specimens and local reports. Forktail. 21: 183–186. Close ); presence confirmed at two sites in Thailand (see below); recent surveys in NE India found 20 new sites (with 24 unconfirmed), confirmed continued presence at three former sites, speculated that species could also be present in E Assam, and estimated total population at c. 4000 individuals (2 Choudhury, A. (2005). New sites for Mrs Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae in north-east India based on hunters’ specimens and local reports. Forktail. 21: 183–186. Close ), while c. 6000 individuals occur in W, N & E Myanmar and it is common in Bwe Pa, Chin State, but at least in E Myanmar the species appears to have declined significantly since the first half of the 20th century, with local extirpations probable (8 Bezuijen, M.R., Eaton, J.A., Gidean, Hutchinson, R.O. and Rheindt, F.R. (2010). Recent and historical bird records for Kalaw, eastern Myanmar (Burma), between 1895 and 293939. Forktail. 26: 49–74. Close ). Occurs in Murlen (150 km²) and Blue Mountain (Phawngpui) National Parks (50 km²), Lengteng Wildlife Sanctuary (80 km²) and Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary (6·4 km²) in NE India (i.e. just 6% of the habitat available to the species in country) (2 Choudhury, A. (2005). New sites for Mrs Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae in north-east India based on hunters’ specimens and local reports. Forktail. 21: 183–186. Close ), and Natmataung National Park in Myanmar (9 Thet Zaw Naing (2003). Ecology of the White-browed Nuthatch Sitta victoriae in Natmataung National Park, Myanmar, with notes on other significant species. Forktail 19: 57–62. Close ); occurs in Doi Inthanon and Doi Chaing Dao (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) National Parks in Thailand; and Ailao Shan Natural Reserve (10 Wang, Z., C. Carpenter, and S. S. Young (2000). Bird distribution and conservation in the Ailao Mountains, Yunnan, China. Biological Conservation 92(1):45–57. Close ), Cenwanglaoshan Nature Reserve (where reintroduced) (11 Bei, Y.-J., Lai, J.-L., Li, G.-F., Li, H.-H., Huang, C.-M. and Wu, L.-D. (2010). Summer habitat selection of the reintroduced Mrs Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae). Chinese J. Zool.. 45(4): 59–64. Close ) and Jinzhongshan National Nature Reserve (6 Jiang, A., Cheng, Z. and Liang, X. (2012). Discovery of Hume’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. Chinese Birds. 3(2): 143–146. Close ) in China. Threatened by habitat loss and degradation, including shortening rotation times of slash-and-burn agriculture in NE India (now usually 3–4 years, versus 10–20 years in past) (2 Choudhury, A. (2005). New sites for Mrs Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae in north-east India based on hunters’ specimens and local reports. Forktail. 21: 183–186. Close ); possibly overhunted for food. Extensive surveys required, especially in Thailand and NE India; extensions to existing conservation units (2 Choudhury, A. (2005). New sites for Mrs Hume’s Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae in north-east India based on hunters’ specimens and local reports. Forktail. 21: 183–186. Close ) and additional protected areas should also be designated. It is the state bird of Manipur, in NE India (12 Choudhury, A. (2009). Significant recent ornithological records from Manipur, north-east India, with an annotated checklist. Forktail. 25: 71–89. Close ).