Family Pheasants, Partridges, Turkeys, Grouse (Phasianidae)
Near Threatened
White Eared-pheasant (Crossoptilon crossoptilon)
Taxonomy
French: Hokki blanc German: Weißer Ohrfasan Spanish: Faisán orejudo blanco
Taxonomy:
Phasianus crossoptilon
Hodgson
, 1838,probably west China
.Taxon harmani here considered a distinct species on account of mid-grey upperparts and underparts (except for white throat, neck-sides and mid-belly and whitish-grey rump), with white belly patch vs pale grey in morphologically closest form dolani (2); neck greyish-black, causing white throat and narrow white collar to stand out sharply (3); white belly patch vs none (1); slightly smaller size (on small sample, NHMUK, where mean wing 286 vs 310; at least 1). Intergrades among races reported, suggesting that several may be of dubious validity; drouynii found to exhibit individual variation at one site#R. Four subspecies currently recognized.
What do (1) and (2) mean? Learn more about the scoring system.
Subspecies and Distribution
C. c. dolani
Meyer de Schauensee, 1937 – WC China (SE Qinghai).
C. c. drouynii
J. P. Verreaux, 1868 – E Tibet (between R Yangtze and R Salween).
C. c. crossoptilon
(Hodgson, 1838) – WC China (SE Tibet and W Sichuan); and possibly NE India (NE Arunachal)#R.
C. c. lichiangense
Delacour, 1945 – SC China (SW Sichuan to NW Yunnan).
Descriptive notes
75–96 cm; tail 46–58 cm; male 2350–2750 g, female 1400–2050 g. Unmistakable. Ear-tufts shorter than those of other eared-pheasants. Female resembles... read more
Voice
Advertising call is a fast-tempo, raucous, grating “gag, gag, gagerah, gagerah, gagerah,... read more
Habitat
Subalpine coniferous forest, oak, birch, rhododendron and juniper scrub between 3500 m and 4300 m,... read more
Food and feeding
Believed to feed on lily bulbs and stems and bulbs of wild onions; one crop in Dec was full of juniper berries; seen feeding on rowan/... read more
Breeding
Little information from the wild. Considered monogamous. Eggs probably laid in May–Jun; two nests in late May, one in NE Assam (... read more
Movements
Some altitudinal movement recorded. In summer occurs in alpine meadows, in winter descending... read more
Status and conservation
Not considered globally threatened. Currently treated as Near Threatened. Formerly considered Vulnerable. CITES I. Species has a large range, but one within which its rather... read more
White Eared-Pheasant in Myanmar?
I know of no records of White-Eared-pheasant in Myanmar. Can you provide one? Otherwise I think the range for this species does not cross into the Ayeyarwady Watershed.
I'd be very interested in hearing about any actual records, otherwise I would remove this species from the HBW "Myanmar" List
Thanks,
Rob