| Edwards's pheasant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male | |
 | |
| Female,ZooBojnice,Slovakia | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Genus: | Lophura |
| Species: | L. edwardsi |
| Binomial name | |
| Lophura edwardsi (Oustalet, 1896) | |
Edwards's pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) is abird of the pheasant familyPhasianidae and isendemic to theseasonal tropical forests of centralVietnam. It is named after the French ornithologistAlphonse Milne-Edwards and first described to science in 1896.[3] The bird's length is 58–65 centimetres (23–26 in)[4] and has red legs and facial skin. The male is mainly blue-black with a crest, and the female is a drab brown bird. The alarm call is apuk!-puk!-puk!.
There are two varieties; the nominate formL. e. edwardsi has a white crest and upper tail, whereas the northern form, usually calledVietnamese pheasant, is found with a variable number of white rectrices. This difference in the two forms may be due to inbreeding of a restricted, fragmented population there, and has also been seen in captive, inbredL. edwardsi.
In 2012 the nominate form of Edwards's pheasant have been uplisted toCritically Endangered byBirdLife International, having suffered fromdeforestation, hunting and the use ofdefoliants during theVietnam War. The population is currently believed to number between 50 and 249 birds in the wild, mostly of the nominate form, but it is doing well in captivity, where it is the subject ofex situ conservation. There have been no confirmed sightings of a living individual in the wild since 2000 and in 2010 theWorld Pheasant Association (WPA) received funding from theCritical Ecosystem Partnership Fund to survey forests in the central Vietnam provinces ofQuảng Bình andQuảng Trị.[5] It is considered possibly extinct in the wild as a result.[1]
Edwards's pheasant was first observed in 1896. Twenty-eight years later, another species ofLophura, the Imperial pheasant (Lophura imperialis), was seen in the border area between Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces.[4] It was later proven to be ahybrid between the Edwards's pheasant and the Silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera).[6] TheVietnamese pheasant (Lophura hatinhensis), formerly considered a distinct taxon, has now been shown to be a variant of Edward's pheasant caused by inbreeding due to small population size.[7]
Edwards pheasants have a body length of 58-65 cm, including the tail length, which is about 24-26 cm for males, and 20-22 cm for females. Males are heavier, with a weight between 1115-1100 g, and females around 1050 g. Males are all black, with a blue tint throughout their feathers. Females are generally chestnut-brown with no crest.[8]
Edwards's pheasant is endemic tocentral Vietnam and has been found in four provinces (Ha Tinh,Quang Binh,Quang Tri, andThua Thien Hue). They live in evergreen forests with lots of palms and patches of bamboo. The birds often hide in the low vegetation, and females dig their nests in the grounds of these forests. Edward's pheasants do not commonly migrate because they are not affected by cold weather and can spend most winters outside.[8]
Male birds have a wing-whirring sound. Their alarm call is a low guttural "uk uk uk uk uk", sometimes a hard "puk puk puk puk puk".[8]
Edward's pheasants have rarely been observed in the wild, so little is known about its behavior in its natural habitat.
An Edwards's pheasant atDenver Zoo's diet consists of mealworms, chopped fruit, and greens, specially formulated game bird diet.[9]
Edward's pheasants usually breed between the months of March and May. Males push their chests, vibrate their wings, and erect the feathers on their backs to find their mate. Females can begin to breed after two years, while their maximum fertility is usually around ages 4-5.[10] On average, females lay between 4-7 eggs each time. The females make the nests well hidden and dug into the group, usually with plant debris and bamboo overtop.[10] The female incubates eggs for around 20-22 days. However, the male remains stationed close to guard the bird. The eggs are round and have a faint pink color with dotted cream spots. Juveniles are primarily chestnut-brown.[8]
Lophura edwardsi was assessed forThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2018 and listed asCritically Endangered. It is one of the most endangered species ofGalliformes. Their population is decreasing, with 50-249 mature individuals right now, according toIUCN Red List. Any remaining subpopulations are likely to be extremely small and declining. They have not been spotted in the wild since the year 2000. Intense hunting and trapping, habitat loss due to herbicide spraying during theVietnam War, logging, and clearance for agriculture has significantly affected the population of this species.Khe Nuoc Trong,Bac Huong Hoa, Phong Dien,[11] andKe Go are reserves where these birds could reside.An Action Plan was published for this species in 2015.
The Phong Điền Nature Reserve was initially designated to protect the Edward's pheasant after the rediscovery of the species in the area in 1996.[11] In 2018, a photograph of a dead female Edwards's pheasant was taken inA Lưới District, which includes part ofPhong Điền; this marked the first evidence of a wild Edwards's pheasant in almost two decades, and indicates that the species may still persist in the reserve.[12][11]
