Blue eared pheasant

Blue-eared pheasant is a rare and precious bird, and it is a second-class protected animal in the country. Mainly produced in Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan and other places. The two pairs of original feathers of the blue eared pheasant are precious. Its meat and eggs are edible and have high nutritional value.

I. appearance features

Blue eared pheasant is a large pheasant with a total length of about 90 cm. The body feathers are bluish gray, with metallic luster and loose like hair. The top of the head and occipital are covered with black downy feathers; two clusters of white ear feathers are short-angled; the facial skin is bright red. The flying feather is brownish and has a metallic purplish blue outer edge. The central tail feather is long and upwardly warped, and the feather branches are scattered and drooping like a horsetail, hence the name blue-eared pheasant. It is also known as "horn bird" and "grouse". The base of the tail feathers on both sides is white, and the rest is purplish blue. The mouth is light red and the feet are coral red.

II. Living habits

The blue-eared pheasant likes to live in alpine and cold areas, living in the dense spruce and oak forests of 2000 to 3000m above sea level, or among the shrubs of mountain willow and wax plum, and move to watery valleys or open scrub grasslands with the downward movement of the snow line after autumn. Blue-eared pheasants like to live together in groups of 10 to 30, usually starting at dawn and foraging in the middle of the woods, mainly plant food and insects. The blue eared pheasant breeds from April to June and lives in pairs during this period. They lay eggs on the ground under shady trees, with 6 or 12 eggs per litter, grayish brown or light turquoise. There are light brown spots. The incubation period is 26-27 days.