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The blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus), the only species in the genus Ithaginis, lives in an extremely inhospitable high‐altitude environment, coping with hypoxia and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. To further investigate the phylogeny of Phasianidae species based on complete genomes and understand the molecular genetic mechanisms of the high‐altitude adaptation of the blood pheasant, we de novo assembled and annotated the complete genome of the blood pheasant. The blood pheasant genome size is 1.04 Gb with scaffold N50 of 10.88 Mb. We identified 109.92 Mb (10.62%) repetitive elements, 279,037 perfect microsatellites, and 17,209 protein‐coding genes. The phylogenetic tree of Phasianidae based on whole genomes revealed three highly supported major clades with the blood pheasant included in the “erectile clade.” Comparative genomics analysis showed that many genes were positively selected in the blood pheasant, which was associated with response to hypoxia and/or UV radiation. More importantly, among these positively selected genes (PSGs) which were related to high‐altitude adaptation, sixteen PSGs had blood pheasant‐specific missense mutations. Our data and analysis lay solid foundation to the study of Phasianidae phylogeny and provided new insights into the potential adaptation mechanisms to the high altitude employed by the blood pheasant.

Niche theory predicts that, to avoid interspecific competitive exclusion, ecologically similar bird species in sympatry should reduce habitat use overlap, especially when shared resources are limiting in an environment. Dust-bathing sites represent a distinctive behavior-specific habitat, differing from other habitats as they are used for short durations and infrequently. However, we have little understanding of selection, potential interspecific overlap, and partitioning of dust-bathing sites among sympatric species. In this study, we examined overlap and selection of dust-bathing sites of 3 sympatric montane galliform species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus), Szechenyi's Partridge (Tetraophasis szechenyii), and White Eared-Pheasant (Crossoptilon crossoptilon). We identified dust-bathing scrapes and measured habitat characteristics of dust-bathing sites along 10 transects established in Gexigou National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China, from April to Augus...

Livestock grazing has become the most prevalent human disturbance in protected areas across the range of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Previous studies have documented the impacts of livestock grazing on habitat and food resources of giant panda, however, little is known about how free-ranging livestock influences other sympatric species. In this study, we investigated the presence of livestock on the habitat use and activity patterns of blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentusbe), a representative species of phasianids in China, of which more than 50% are under threats due to habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal harvest and human disturbance. We combined camera-trap and sign survey data collected within Wanglang National Nature Reserve, where the livestock population has increased by nine-fold in the past decade, and used both an occupancy modeling framework and kernel density estimation to understand blood pheasant’s recent distribution, changes in occurrences, and diel activity patterns in the presence of free-ranging livestock in different seasons (i.e., breeding [April to July], non-breeding [August to October] and winter [November to March]). For diel activity, blood pheasant overlapped highly with livestock regardless of the season, as both are primarily diurnal species. With regards to distribution, we detected a significant positive correlation between the presence of blood pheasants and livestock (P = 0.02) in breeding season which was against our expectation; no significant relationship in non-breeding season; and a significant negative correlation in winter. Besides, livestock had a significant negative correlation with blood pheasant extinction probability, and no significant impact on colonization probability. Aided by results from two-season occupancy modeling, we argued that the spatial co-occurrence in breeding season wasn’t due to causality, but similar habitat preferences between them. Our study confirms that free-ranging livestock do have the potential to impact blood pheasant due to temporal and spatial overlap, but the consequences of this overlap were unclear.

Habitat fragmentation assessment is quite important for the endangered risk assessing and conservation management for threatened animals. Note that even sympatric species may differ in habitat fragmentation, due to the various ecological niche requirements and dispersal capabilities. We therefore develop an integrated method for assessing the habitat fragmentation that combines habitat suitability with dispersal distance data to assess the patch isolation, within-patch fragmentation and identify the functional habitat fragmentation categories. Specifically, the ecological niche modeling enables us to identify the species-specific suitable areas through connecting the niche requirements and distribution, which indirectly includes the effects of habitat loss and degradation. The integrated fragmentation assessments enable the conservation planners to consider not only the population isolation level in large scale, but also the spatial connectivity within-patch and different fragmentation categories for landscape conservation that would otherwise appear cryptic under more typical habitat suitability or fragmentation assessing approaches. Furthermore, these assessments cal also be applied in the quantitatively endangered status ranking. We applied this method in two sympatric montane Galliform birds in China, Chinese Grouse ( Bonasa sewerzowi ) and Blood Pheasant ( Ithaginis cruentus ) for comparison and illustration purpose. Generally, the suitable areas of Chinese Grouse were predicted to be significantly smaller than that of Blood Pheasant. The habitat of Chinese Grouse was also more severely fragmented than the Blood Pheasant through both scales of patch isolation and within-patch fragmentation. We therefore suggest that the Chinese Grouse should be even more threatened than previously considered.

The Himalayan species of Galliformes are scantily studied, and their present status is not properly documented. Spring surveys conducted in some areas usually rely on dawn counting to estimate population abundance and distribution. In the upper Khumbu–Himal region of Sagarmatha National Park (Nepal), we conducted point count surveys of three high-altitude species: Himalayan monal, Blood pheasant and Tibetan snowcock. Our study area was between 3300 and 5000 m a.s.l, and it was characterised by subalpine and alpine vegetation. We recorded bird distribution in relation to altitude and habitats (forest, shrub and high-altitude grassland). Two different patterns emerged in the species studied: Tibetan snowcock and Blood pheasant counts gave optimal results at dawn. Contrarily, Himalayan monal counts at dawn were far less representative of species abundance than dusk counts. This implies the need to fully understand the behavioural ecology of a species before planning a field study for population esti...

Only a few species of vertebrate animals feed to a significant extent on bryophytes (Prins, 1982; Eskelinen, 2002; Glime, 2009). One of them is the Blood Pheasant, Ithaginis cruentus (Phasianidae),...

The role of the Quaternary ice ages in forming the contemporary genetic structure of populations has been well studied in a number of global regions. However, due to the different nature of glaciations and complex topography, their role in shaping eastern Eurasian genetic diversity, particular in areas surrounding the Tibetan Plateau have remained largely unstudied. We aimed to address this question by examining the genetic structure of an alpine forest-associated taxon, the blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus) to infer its phylogeographic history. We detected three phylogenetic lineages and four current population groups. By comparing molecular and palaeovegetation data, we found that major glaciations during the Pleistocene have had a major impact upon the current genetic diversity of this species. Coalescent simulations indicate that the populations retreated to different refugia during some glacial periods in the Pleistocene, but persisted through the last glacial maximum (LGM). The most significant recent population expansion was found to have occurred before the LGM, during which palaeoclimatic data indicate that the climate was both warmer and wetter than today. In contrast, during the LGM populations may have adopted an altitudinal shift strategy in order to track changes in alpine glaciers, exemplifying a general response for montane species in the region where alpine glaciations were not large enough to cause qualitative changes in vegetation. Although analysis based on a plumage related gene showed that divergent selection may have contributed to current patterns of intra-specific diversity, demographic isolation is inferred to have played a more dominant role.

Birds with single-sex incubation must resolve tradeoffs in time allocated between incubation and foraging by adopting optimal incubation strategies. We used temperature loggers to study the incubation behavior of the Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus), a uniparental bird of high-elevation forests (3,000 m), at Lianhaushan Nature Reserve in southern Gansu Province, China. The incubation period, 37 days, was 8–10 days longer than for captive birds. Females usually took one recess averaging 6.6 ± 1.2 h day-1, only 6.4% of the days had second recesses, and the latter averaged 28 ± 5 min. Females left the nests near dawn (at 0652 hours, on average) and returned around midday, at 1325 hours; in total, they remained on the nest (i.e., nest attentiveness) for 72.0 ± 1.4% of the day. Egg predation was not associated with movements of females to and from nests. Egg temperatures dropped rapidly once females left the nest, and eggs often experienced 3.5 h below 10°C for each daily recess. Embryonic hypothe...

In the Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal, Himalayan species of Galliformes are poorly studied and their present status is unknown. We studied the distribution of three high-altitude species: Himalayan monal, blood pheasant, and Tibetan snowcock, comparing birds' distribution in relation to altitude and habitat in spring and autumn 2007. Our study area was at 3300–5000 m a.s.l., characterized by subalpine vegetation. A structural description of vegetation types was made on the basis of main habitat features. We observed two different patterns across the year. Group size differences are common during spring and autumn. Variation in habitat use and altitudinal ranges are evident in the snowcock and blood pheasant. The Himalayan monal distribution was influenced by anthropogenic resources.

We report on the use of infrared-triggered cameras as an effective tool to survey phasianid populations in Wanglang and Wolong Nature Reserves, China. Surveys at 183 camera-trapping sites recorded 30 bird species, including nine phasianids (one grouse and eight pheasant species). Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus and Temminck’s Tragopan Tragopan temminckii were the phasianids most often detected at both reserves and were found within the mid-elevation range (2400–3600 m asl). The occupancy rate and detection probability of both species were examined using an occupancy model relative to eight sampling covariates and three detection covariates. The model estimates of occupancy for Blood Pheasant (0.30) and Temminck’s Tragopan (0.14) are close to the naive estimates based on camera detections (0.27 and 0.13, respectively). The estimated detection probability during a 5-day period was 0.36 for Blood Pheasant and 0.30 for Temminck’s Tragopan. The daily activity patterns for these two species were assessed from the time ⁄ date stamps on the photographs and sex ratios calculated for Blood Pheasant (152M : 72F) and Temminck’s Tragopan (48M : 21F). Infrared cameras are valuable for surveying these reclusive species and our protocol is applicable to research or monitoring of phasianids.

Understanding the habitat needs of White Eared-pheasant Crossoptilon crossoptilon and Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus is important for their conservation. We carried out field surveys of the two pheasants around Zhujie Monastery, Daocheng County, Sichuan Province, China, using line transects. In total, 172 200 × 200 m grid squares were obtained, including 56 active and 116 inactive ones for White Eared-pheasant and 45 active and 127 inactive ones for Blood Pheasant. We analysed the occurrence of both species by logistic multiple regression. The most important variables in model 1 for White Eared-pheasant were distance to nearest permanent water, shrub cover, tree cover, tree height and herb cover. In model 2 for Blood Pheasant, distance to nearest permanent water, shrub cover, herb cover and herb height were most important. The occurrence of both pheasants was negatively related to distance to nearest permanent water and herb cover, and positively related to shrub cover. The occurrence of White Eared-pheasant was positively related to tree cover and tree height, and that of Blood Pheasant to herb height. Water, food and predation risk were the main ecological factors affecting the species' distribution. Based on the two predictive models, conservation management was proposed, to include management of selectively-logged areas and substituting other energy sources, such as electricity, for firewood.

The blood pheasant Ithaginis cruentus belongs to the family Phasianidae and distributes in the eastern Himalayas, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. In this study, the total mitochondrial genome of I. cruentus was firstly determined. The genome is 16,683 bases in length. Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony methods were used to construct phylogenetic trees based on 12 concatenated protein-coding genes on the heavy strand. Phylogenetic analyses further confirmed that Ithaginis clearly diverged later than Arborophila, and Arborophila was a basal branch within Phasianidae.

Only rarely are green plumage colors due to the presence of green pigments. The best known is turacoverdin. Two galliform species (Ithaginis, Rollolus), Jacana and some anseriform species (Somateria, Nettapus) also have green pigments. The reflectance spectra of plumage pigmented by turacoverdin are characterized by distinct minima at about 570 and 610 nm. These minima represent absorption bands as confirmed by a transmittance spectrum of a turacoverdin extract. Surprisingly, the spectra of the two galliform species and Jacana also exhibit the characteristics of the turacoverdin spectrum, while that of Somateria is different. I show that the pigments of Ithaginis, Rollolus, and Jacana also resemble turacoverdin in containing copper in relatively high concentration, and conclude that these pigments are identical with or closely related to turacoverdin. Intraand interspecific variation in reflectance spectra is assumed to be largely determined by the presence of dark, nongreen pigments in the plumage. The spectrum of turacoverdin supports the hypothesis that the pigment is closely related to the well-known red pigment of turacos (Musophagidae)-turacin. However, the chemical constitution of turacoverdin remains unknown. The presence of turacoverdin and turacin in the plumage of the Musophagidae hitherto has been considered an autapomorphy of the turacos. The fact the turacoverdin also is present in two possibly related galliform taxa argues for phylogenetic relationships between the Musophagidae and the Galliformes. Received 3 April 1991, accepted 10 January 1992. GREEN, noniridescent plumage colors can be produced in a number of ways (Auber 1957). The combination of a structural blue color with yellow pigments, as found in parrots, is best known (Frank 1939, Dyck 1971). The olive-green colors obtained by the juxtaposition of yellow and blackish pigments (apposition colors; Auber 1957, Dyck 1978) also are widespread. Central to my two studies is the question of the evolution of plumage colors that resemble the green colors of leaves, without chlorophyll being available as a feather pigment (Needham 1974:81). In principle, the simplest way to produce a green plumage color is to deposit a green pigment within the feather keratin. This possibility has been realized in only a limited number of cases. The best-known green feather pigment is turacoverdin. This is found in some turacos (Musophagidae), especially the species of Tauraco and Musophaga, and possibly also in the Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata; Krukenberg 1882, Moreau 1958). Preliminary chemical studies have been carried out (Moreau 1958). Other known green pigments are zooprasinin in the remiges of the Jacana (Jacana spinosa, Jacanidae; Rensch 1925), phasianoverdin in belly feathers of the Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus, Phasianidae; Gotz 1925), and a green pigment in much of the plumage of the Roulroul (Crested Wood-Partridge, Rollolus roulroul, Phasianidae), especially the female (Volker 1961). The green pigments in some anseriform species (Nettapus, Somateria; Auber 1957) are poorly known (Brush 1978). I describe the reflectance spectra of green plumage areas in several species and discuss factors that influence the shapes of the spectra. I compare the reflectance spectra with the spectrum of turacoverdin in extract and from this infer the probable identity of some of the pigments. MATERIALS AND METHODS Most measurements were performed on study skins from the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, and the British Museum (Natural History). A few measurements were also carried out on mounted specimens. The spectrum of the nape of an adult male Eider (Somateria mollissima) was scanned on feathers taken from a newly dead bird. Feathers plucked from live birds were obtained from the Zoological Garden, Copenhagen, and kept four months in the dark before measurement. Reflectance spectra were obtained on a Beckman DK-2A spectrophotometer with a reflectance attachment and using a reference of magnesium oxide. The illuminated spot was approximately 8 x 8 mm.