Pheasants: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan ... - IUCN

• Promote better protection and monitoring of the
population at Dongling Shan.
• Reduce human disturbance during the breeding season.
• Conduct a feasibility study for translocation into Taiyue
Shan (Shanxi), where its habitat has been restored.
Cheer pheasant
(Catreus wallichi)
Vulnerable C1; C2a
This pheasant’s small population is naturally fragmented
because it lives in small patches of successional grassland.
Human population pressure, hunting, and changing patterns
of land use are resulting in its decline, thus qualifying it for
classification as Vulnerable.
Range and population: The cheer pheasant occurs in the
western Himalayas from northern Pakistan through
Kashmir into Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, India,
and east to central Nepal (Garson et al. 1992). It has
always been reported as uncommon with a patchy
distribution, owing to its specialised habitat requirements.
Many subpopulations are thought to number fewer than
10 individuals living in small pockets of suitable habitat
(Gaston et al. 1981). In Pakistan, it may now only persist
in the Jhelum Valley (Islam and Crawford 1986, Young et
al. 1987) and it has declined in India, with most known
populations now confined to Himachal Pradesh (Sharma
and Pandey 1989). In Nepal, it appears to be localised,
with few recent records and generally declining (H.S.
Baral in litt.).
Ecology: It is resident in precipitous, rocky terrain
dominated by scrub, tall grass, and scattered clumps of
trees, most frequently occurring from 1,200 to 3,250m.
Occupied sites are characterised by a combination of low
shrubs, subject to regular browsing and cutting, with tall,
dense grass in spring (Kalsi 1998). Its preference for early
successional habitats, often created by traditional grass
cutting and burning regimes, has led to an association with
human settlements (Garson et al. 1992).
Threats: Having been widely shot for sport in the early
twentieth century, it is still hunted for food today and its
eggs are collected for local consumption (Young et al.
1987). The patchy nature of its specialised habitat may
render the smallest, isolated populations vulnerable to
extinction, and higher levels of disturbance (e.g. grazing
and felling of wooded ravines) now pose a substantial
threat (Kalsi 1998). Conversion of grassland to permanent
arable terraces is also reducing available habitat, as are
schemes to reafforest mid-altitude grasslands (R. Kaul
in litt.).
Conservation: The species is legally protected in Nepal and
India. It occurs in at least 12 protected areas in Himachal
Pradesh, three in Uttar Pradesh, and three in Nepal. Many
status surveys have now been conducted in Himachal and
Uttar Pradesh, along with research into population ecology
and habitat preferences (Kaul 1989, Kalsi 1998). Reintroduction
in Pakistan has been unsuccessful (Garson et
al. 1992).
Targets:
• Conduct surveys to assess distribution and status in west
Nepal and northeast Pakistan.
• Monitor populations at as many key sites as possible.
• Conduct research into the causes of breeding success and
dispersal.
• Study burning and grazing regimes at known sites to
monitor their impact.
• Use it as a flagship species in producing and promoting
habitat management recommendations based on these
studies.
• Promote improved enforcement of existing hunting bans.
Elliot’s pheasant
(Syrmaticus ellioti)
Vulnerable A1c,d; A2c,d
This species is listed as Vulnerable because it occupies easily
exploited forest isolates in low-lying and heavily populated
areas, and is probably rapidly declining because of ongoing
habitat loss and hunting.
Range and population: Elliot’s pheasant is endemic to
southeast China, where it is recorded from Guizhou,
Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi,
and Guangdong. In recent years, its known range has been
greatly extended to the west and there have been reports
that it is locally common, but it is believed to be declining
within its highly fragmented habitat (Ding Ping 1998).
Ecology: It occurs in a wide variety of subtropical forest
types and sometimes in scrub vegetation between 200 and
1,900m. The most important habitats are broadleaf forest
(both evergreen and deciduous) and mixed coniferous and
broadleaf forest. Its preferred breeding habitat is forest
with tree cover of more than 90% (Ding Ping and Zhuje
Yang 1990, Ding Ping 1998).
Threats: Most of the natural forest within its range has
been cleared or modified as a result of the demands for
agricultural land and timber. Current threats include the
further clearance of natural forest and its replacement
with conifer plantations, the burning of forest by humanmade
hill fires, and the collection of firewood (Wang
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