Animalia Life

Tetraogallus tibetanus
SUBFAMILY
Phasianinae (Tribe Perdicini)
TAXONOMY
Tetraogallus tibetanus Gould, 1854, Tibet = Ladakh, India. Four subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Tetraogalle du Tibet; German: Tibetkцnigshuhn; Spanish: Perdigallo Tibetano;.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
19–22 in (50–56 cm); male 3.3–4.0 lb (1.5–1.8 kg); female 2.6–3.5 lb (1.2–1.6 kg). Distinguished from other snowcocks by white underparts with heavy blackish streaks on flanks.
DISTRIBUTION
Tibetan plateau including northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, eastern Tajikistan, Tibet, and adjacent parts of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan in China.
HABITAT
Mainly on bare and grassy slopes at 16,400–19,700 ft (5,000–6,000 m); stays above tree-line year round.
BEHAVIOR
Gathered in groups of up to 50 out of breeding season; pairs formed by April and males call from vantage points at dawn; runs if disturbed, only taking flight reluctantly; roosts in rocky scree, flying downhill early to start feeding.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Roots, shoots, seeds, and berries; chicks consume legumes, but few invertebrates.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Probably monogamous; nests late May concealed by shrub or boulder; clutch size four to seven.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened, having an extensive range; relatively common in Nepal.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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