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

pheasant, and full declaration of the Phong Dien and
Dakrong Nature Reserves for Edwards’s pheasant.
Initiatives to reduce the reliance of local people on forest
resources in these areas need to be expanded and monitored
for their ecological impacts. The Edwards’s pheasant
population in captivity has been subject to hybridisation
with Swinhoe’s pheasant in the past, and is in need of
further screening and decontamination.
Timescale: work on these species should be continuous.
Resources: several different things are required: an
experienced molecular taxonomist with access to a wellequipped
laboratory; ecologists to do year-round surveys;
educators for environmental awareness campaigns; and
the resources of the forestry and wildlife protection agencies
in the key protected areas.
Project 14. Bornean peacock-pheasant
(Polyplectron schleiermacheri)
Aims: to conduct extensive surveys to determine
distribution; to recommend additional protected areas as
necessary.
Justification: this species is extremely elusive and there are
very few confirmed sightings, but a recent questionnaire
survey in central Kalimantan revealed that it may be more
widespread than was previously thought. Thus, there is
now an urgent need to conduct field surveys to locate wild
populations, protect them, and study habitat use.
Project description: highly targeted field surveys of this
species should be conducted to confirm in which habitats
it is found and to locate the main centres of abundance. In
particular, the Paitan River region in Sabah should receive
attention as there are several records from this area. A
large-scale assessment of the degree of fragmentation of
populations is then required, so that areas supporting
viable populations can be identified. These should then
become the focus for protected area designation and
management. Immediate attention should be given to
supporting the proposed Bukit Raya National Park
extension, a measure that will safeguard potential
important habitat for this species in Kalimantan.
Timescale: surveys of any duration will provide useful
information about the range and abundance of this species,
but a long-term approach will be needed for advocacy
work and habitat utilisation studies.
Resources: needs will vary depending on the length
and scope of individual projects, but individual surveys of
great value could be conducted relatively cheaply.
4.5 Projects for Vulnerable species
Project 15. Brown eared-pheasant
(Crossoptilon mantchuricum)
Aims: to identify gaps in the existing protected area
network covering this species; to conduct surveys in Shaanxi
to identify additional viable populations; to develop
management plans for four crucial protected areas.
Justification: habitat loss over several centuries has led to
increasing fragmentation in the range of this species, and
the remaining small subpopulations are vulnerable to further
decline, owing to continuing habitat loss and other threats
(e.g. collection of fungi in spring). There is an urgent need
to limit further habitat loss and to identify habitat fragments
in which new protected areas should be established.
Management proposals are also required for the four
protected areas (Luyashan, Pangquangou, Wulushan, and
Xiaowutai Shan) originally set up to protect this species.
Project description: the first step should be a large-scale
assessment of how well populations of this species are
represented in the existing protected area network. Gaps in
the network need to be identified and recommendations
made for new and extended protected areas where these are
likely to improve the survival prospects of some populations.
Further survey work in Shaanxi is necessary to define the
distribution of populations there. Proposals for more
effective management within the existing protected areas
need to be developed and promoted to the appropriate
authorities. There is an immediate opportunity to evaluate
the effects of one specific management recommendation,
namely reducing predation on nests by collectors of forest
fungi, as this has recently been implemented in the light of
research findings at Pangquangou.
Timescale: this work is ongoing and should be continued,
although individual elements such as surveys and protected
area network assessment could be conducted independently.
Resources: a field survey team is required for Shaanxi. In
addition, an experienced ecologist for assessment of the
fungus-collecting ban at Pangquangou, access to expertise
on large-scale conservation assessment, and the resources
of the forestry and wildlife protection agencies at the key
protected areas are needed.
Project 16. Elliot’s pheasant
(Syrmaticus ellioti)
Aims: to assess the adequacy of the existing protected area
network through surveys and a large-scale review; to
conduct ecological studies, particularly focused on habitat
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