Kalij pheasant
Kalij pheasant | |
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Male L. leucomelanos hamiltoni, Uttarakhand, India | |
Female L. leucomelanos hamiltoni, Uttarakhand, India | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Galliformes |
Family: | Phasianidae |
Genus: | Lophura |
Species: | L. leucomelanos
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Binomial name | |
Lophura leucomelanos (Latham, 1790)
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The kalij pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos), or simply kalij, is a
The name is also spelled kaleege in old texts, such as Game Birds of India and Asia by Frank Finn,[4] though no longer in his Indian Sporting Birds.[5] The species was introduced to Hawaii[1] in 1962 as a gamebird.[6]
Taxonomy
The kalij pheasant is closely related to the silver pheasant, and the two are known to
Subspecies
The nine recognized subspecies of the kalij pheasant are, in taxonomic order:
- L. l. hamiltoni J.E. Gray, 1829) – white-crested kalij pheasant – western Himalayas
- L. l. leucomelanos (nominate – forests of Nepal
- L. l. melanota (Hutton, 1848) – black-backed kalij pheasant – Sikkim and western Bhutan
- L. l. moffitti (Hachisuka, 1938) – black kalij pheasant – central Myanmar
- L. l. lathami (J.E. Gray, 1829) – Horsfield's pheasant – eastern Bhutan and northern India to Myanmar
- L. l. williamsi (Oates, 1898) – Williams' kalij pheasant – western Myanmar
- L. l. oatesi (Ogilvie-Grant, 1893) – Oates' kalij pheasant – southern Myanmar
- L. l. crawfurdi (J.E. Gray, 1829) – Crawfurd's pheasant – southeastern Myanmar to peninsular Thailand
- L. l. lineata (Vigors, 1831) – lineated pheasant – southern Myanmar to northwestern Thailand
Description
Males have a total length of 63 to 74 cm (25 to 29 in) and females 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in).[2] Height is... Very roughly, the subspecies can be divided into two main groups, with the first (subspecies L. l. hamiltoni, L. l. leucomelanos, L. l. melanota, L. l. moffitti, and Vlathami) being found in the western and central part of the species' range, while the second (L. l. williamsi, L. l. oatesi, L. l. lineata, and L. l. crawfurdi) is found in the eastern part. In the males of the first group, most of plumage is glossy blue-black, though with white to the rump or underparts in most subspecies, and in L. l. hamiltoni, the westernmost subspecies, the crest is white (all other have a blue-black crest). In the second group, the underparts and crest are glossy blue-black, but the tail and upperparts are white (or very pale grey) with most feathers densely vermiculated with black.[2]
Females are brownish. In some subspecies, the underparts are distinctly marked in whitish and black, while in others, most feathers are pale-edged, resulting in a scaly appearance.[2]
UT Bird of Jammu and Kashmir
On 21 October 2021, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir declared Kalij Pheasant as bird of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kalij Pheasant is known as Wan Kokur, Wan Kokud or Ban Kokur in the Kashmiri language, which can be translated as wild cock.[3]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 84-87334-15-6
- ^ a b "Kalij Pheasant declared as bird of Jammu & Kashmir UT". The Chenab Times. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ Finn, F. (1911?). Game Birds of India and Asia.
- ^ Finn, F. (1915). Indian Sporting Birds.
- ^ "Lophura leucomelanos | Kalij pheasant". hawaiibirdingtrails.hawaii.gov. State of Hawaii. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ISBN 0-19-854940-7
- ^ McGowan, P. J. K., A. L. Panchen (1994). Plumage variation and geographical distribution in the Kalij and Silver Pheasants. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 114: 113-123.
- ISBN 1-85368-313-2
- ^ Moulin, S., E. Randi, C. Tabarroni, & A. Hennache (2003). Mitochondrial DNA diversification among the subspecies of the Silver and Kalij Pheasants, Lophura nycthemera and L. leucomelanos, Phasianidae. Ibis 145: E1-E11
External links
Media related to Lophura leucomelanos at Wikimedia Commons