Mountain Bamboo-Partridge Bambusicola fytchii Scientific name definitions

c. 32–37 cm; male 278–400 g, female 256–340 g (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Male is larger than female (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Distinctive pattern on head and underparts ; belly creamy white to pale buff; chestnut outer tail feathers conspicuous in flight. Female usually unspurred (male has one spur) and has rufous band behind eye (rather than blackish) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Irides brown to pale yellowish brown, bill blackish brown (male) to dark horn-brown becoming paler over mandible (female), and legs olive-brown (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Juvenile is most like female, but has paler rufous crown, buffier grey upperparts and grey breast (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Race hopkinsoni averages slightly larger (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) and differs only slightly from nominate in details of plumage, having buffier underparts and greyer upperparts (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

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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.

Open scrub forest, thickets, bamboo patches (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), and mixed scrub and tall grassland along watercourses at 500–3000 m, occasionally lower (2 Choudhury, A. (2009). Significant recent ornithological records from Manipur, north-east India, with an annotated checklist. Forktail. 25: 71–89. Close ); also extensively deforested hillsides, where inhabits swiddens with scattered woods above 1000 m.

Sedentary. Flies only when pressed, rising for a few metres before landing in grass.

Seeds , berries, shoots and buds, rice grains (3 Ripley, S.D., Saha, S.S. and Beehler, B.M. (1991). Notes on birds from the upper Noa Dihing, Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 111(1): 19–28. Close ) and a variety of invertebrates. Scratches ground. Recorded in coveys of up to 5–6 birds, presumably family groups (2 Choudhury, A. (2009). Significant recent ornithological records from Manipur, north-east India, with an annotated checklist. Forktail. 25: 71–89. Close ), occasionally venturing into more open areas during early mornings and evenings (4 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Advertising call , given frequently during breeding season, from a stump or mound, is a resonant “che-chirree-che-chirree, chirree, chirree, chirree” at rate of c. 4 notes/second, which may rise and fall in pitch then gradually fade in volume, is sometimes given in group chorus or pairs duet and is most frequently heard in the early morning (3 Ripley, S.D., Saha, S.S. and Beehler, B.M. (1991). Notes on birds from the upper Noa Dihing, Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 111(1): 19–28. Close , 4 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ); sometimes commences with an asthmatic-sounding indrawn “kyershk” (4 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ); other calls poorly described, but include discordant squawks given by female and a screaming call by flushed bird (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Mating system not certainly known, but perhaps monogamous (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Nesting apparently Mar–Sept (usually Apr–Jul) in China; May–Jul in Myanmar; Mar–May in India. Nest is a scrape on ground within scrub, bamboo or grassland (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), lined with grass and leaves. Usually 4–6 unmarked creamy buff to deep buff (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) eggs (3–8) (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); incubation 18–19 days, by female alone; male stays close to nest and is believed to provision young (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Mace Lande: vulnerable. Range covers a fairly large area (estimated at 530,000 km²) and species apparently persists in second growth (1 Madge, S., and P. McGowan (2002). Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse, including Buttonquails, Sandgrouse and Allies. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but distribution believed to be local and fragmented. Considered widespread and possibly increasing in numbers in N Thailand; common in Upper Myanmar; uncommon in China, but range has only recently been confirmed to include Guangxi (5 Lee Kwok Shing, M. Lau Wai-neng, J. R. Fellowes, and Chan Bosco Pui Lok (2006). Forest bird fauna of South China: notes on current distribution and status. Forktail 22:23–38. Close ); no recent or indeed confirmed records from Bangladesh, but may occur in hill forest in NE & SE of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Formerly found in large numbers in parts of NE India, e.g. up to 27 killed in a single day by two hunters; but no recent information. Appears to be undergoing an overall decline. Subject to habitat loss, but is known to affect cultivated areas; also hunted in NE Thailand and NE India.