Cheer Pheasant

About the Cheer Pheasant

The cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichii), also known as Wallich's pheasant and chir pheasant, is a vulnerable species of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the only member in the genus Catreus. The scientific name commemorates Danish botanist Nathaniel Wallich.

Cheer pheasants have buffy gray plumage and long, gray crests, a notable contrast with other pheasants that favor more brilliant colours. Its long tail has 18 feathers. The central tail feathers are much longer, and the colour is mainly gray and brown. The female is slightly smaller in overall size.

Males are monogamous. They breed on steep cliffs during summer with a clutch of 10 to 11 eggs. In studies conducted in upper Beas Valley, cheer pheasant was found to be sensitive to human disturbance. The cheer pheasant is distributed in the highlands and scrublands of the Himalayas region of India, Nepal and Pakistan. They are found mainly in western Nepal, Uttarakhand (Kumaon and Garhwal), Himachal Pradesh (Shimla, Kullu and Chamba), and Jammu and Kashmir in northwestern India, and Hazara division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northern Pakistan. Surveys in... Wikipedia →