- Edwards's Pheasant
Taxobox
name = Edwards's Pheasant
status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1
image_caption =ZooBojnice ,Slovakia
trend = down
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Galliformes
familia =Phasianidae
genus = "Lophura "
species = "L. edwardsi"
binomial = "Lophura edwardsi"
binomial_authority = (Oustalet, 1896)Edwards's Pheasant, "Lophura edwardsi", is a
bird of the pheasant familyPhasianidae that is endemic to therainforest s ofVietnam . It is 58–67 cm long, with red legs and facial skin. The male is a mainly blue-black bird with a crest,and the female is a drab brown bird. The alarm call is a "puk-puk-puk".This species has two varieties. The nominate form "L. e. edwardsi" has a white crest and upper tail, whereas the northern form "L. e. hatinhensis" is found with a variable number of white retrices. This difference in the two forms may be due to inbreeding of a restricted, fragmented population there, and has also been seen in captive, inbred "L. e. edwardsi". The northern form is sometimes given a separate species status by some authors,
Vietnamese Pheasant , "Lophura hatinhensis" (Vo Quy ,1975 ).Both forms of Edward's Pheasant are currently listed as
endangered species , having suffered from deforestation, hunting and the use ofdefoliant s during theVietnam War .This species is currently believed to number between 1000-3000 birds in the wild, mostly of the nominate form, but it is doing well in capivity, where it is the subject of
ex-situ conservation .This bird is named after the French ornithologist
Alphonse Milne-Edwards .References
* Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is endangered
* "Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse" by Madge and McGowan, ISBN 0-7136-3966-0External links
* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=253&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet.]
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