I wonder if you have heard of this name - blue-eared pheasant? I had never heard of it at first. When I first heard the name, I thought it was a type of chicken. But after observing the pictures and searching for information, I knew that I was wrong. So today, let’s get to know t

I don’t know if you have heard of this name - blue horse chicken ?

I had never heard of it at first. When I first heard the name, I thought it was a type of chicken. But after observing the pictures and searching for information, I knew that I was wrong.

Today, let’s get to know this animal—the blue-eared pheasant.

The blue-eared pheasant is a rare and valuable bird unique to China. It has beautiful feathers that can be used for decoration. The side of the head is crimson, and the ear feathers are clustered in white, protruding from the top of the neck. The whole body is blue-gray, and the central tail feathers are extra long and raised. The tail feathers are scattered and drooping like a horse's tail, hence the name Blue Pheasant.

Its alias is also called horned chicken, grouse, which is birds galliformes, pheasantidae pheasant . Yes, it's a bird.

Why is it said to be unique to China?

Because it is only found in China, it is a bird of high mountain and cold areas. It lives all year round in the northeast and east of Qinghai, the area and south of the Qilian Mountains in northwest Gansu, the Helan Mountains in Ningxia, and northern Sichuan.

The male bird of the blue-eared pheasant has a white forehead; the head and pillow are densely covered with black down feathers, and the back is bounded by a narrow white band; the exposed side of the head is crimson; the ear feather clusters are white, 50-60 mm long, long and Hard, protruding above the head and neck, protruding diagonally to the rear, like a snow-white scarf being gently swept up by the breeze. The long central tail feathers are tilted upward, and the soft and fine feathers are spread out, like a horse's tail. The chin and throat are white; the body feathers are mostly blue-gray, and the feathers are scattered like hair; there are 24 tail feathers, the central tail feather is particularly extended, raised above the other tail feathers, the barbules are scattered and drooping, and the tips are stained with metallic green and dark purple-blue color. The iris is golden yellow; the mouth is light red; the legs and feet are coral red.

The blue-eared pheasant is blue-gray all over, with its neck and shoulders darker in color, shimmering like a metal. The tail feathers gradually change from gray-blue to dark purple-blue, and are rendered with metallic green and metallic purple-blue. The blue-eyed pheasant has 24 tail feathers. The central pair of tail feathers is particularly long and elastic. It bends into a beautiful arc and stands high above the other tail feathers. It is one of the 4 species of pheasants (the 4 species are blue-eyed pheasants). The tail feathers are the most specialized among chickens, brown-eared chicken , white-eared chicken , Tibetan horse chicken ).

The feathers of a newly hatched blue pheasant are loose and silky, the beak is flesh red, the iris is dark brown, the forehead and face are light brown, the front part of the ear feathers is light brown, the back part is black, the top of the head is brown and white, and there are two stripes on the back Inconspicuous light vertical lines. The chest and abdomen are gray-white; the feet are flesh-colored.

Blue-eared Pheasant inhabits mountain coniferous forests, mixed forests, alpine forests, shrubs and tundra grasslands between 2000 and 4000 meters. Usually 10 to 30 animals live together in groups. They usually start to move around at dawn and start looking for food in the woods. They mainly feed on plant stems, buds, leaves, fruits, seeds, etc., and occasionally prey on animals. While eating the food, they barked one after another. The chirping sound was like a horse's neighing, loud and rough; During the lunch break, they usually hide in the bushes and don't come out to be active, and they don't become active again until the evening. They swarm on trees with lush foliage at night. Instead of flying, they jump from lower branches to higher branches and don't stop until they reach the top of the branches.

After February every year, large groups of them will gradually divide into small groups and migrate from broad-leaved forests and forest edge shrubs on sunny slopes to coniferous forests and coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests on shady slopes. In March, the small group of them again separated into pairs of males and females. During the pairing period, male birds often fight for mates and peck each other on the head; after pairing, the male and female birds move together to forage. Usually the male bird is in front and the female bird is behind. They walk together and roost in the same place at night. On a tree.

html The males and females that breed from April to July always move alone in pairs, singing love songs to each other, building nests, etc. The nests are usually built in mountain willow forests and subalpine coniferous forests with forest grassland on sunny slopes. Nests are built in rhododendron shrubs and alpine meadows.The shape of the nest is dish-shaped or shallow bowl-shaped, which is very simple. It mainly uses terrain such as depressions in the ground, and then pads it with twigs, grass stems, grass leaves, bark, etc.

Eggs are laid from late May to early June. Each clutch lays 5-12 eggs. The color of the eggs is gray-brown or light turquoise, with some slight brown spots. The general incubation period is 26-28 days. After the female bird lays the eggs, she starts to sit in the nest to incubate the eggs, and the male bird no longer stays with the female bird all day long.