White-eared Pheasant

Facts

IUCN NEAR THREATENED (NT)

Facts about this animal

The white-eared pheasant is a medium sized pheasant. The sexual dimorphism is virtually lacking; the adult female is only distinguished from the male by the absence of spurs. The total length is about 58 cm. The head is covered with short, curly black feathers. The ear-coverts are moderately extended, forming white tufts. The bare parts of the head are scarlet. Its upper and under parts are white. The plumage of the tail is bronze at the base and shading into dark greenish blue and deep purple towards the extremity. The longer wing coverts are grey. The primaries are dark brown, the secondaries blacker, glossed with purple. The legs are long.

Did you know?
that white-eared pheasants live at an altitude of 3,000-4,300 above sea level? Their habitat includes coniferous and mixed forests near the treeline, and subalpine birch and rhododendron scrub.

Factsheet
Class	AVES
Order	GALLIFORMES
Suborder	PHASIANI
Family	PHASIANIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Crossoptilon crossoptilon
Name (English)	White-eared Pheasant
Name (French)	Faisan oreillard blanc
Name (German)	Weißer Ohrfasan
Name (Spanish)	Faisán orejudo blanco
CITES Status	Appendix I
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Vladimír Motyčka

Distribution

Distribution
Range	China
Habitat	Occurs in coniferous and mixed forests near the treeline, plus subalpine birch and rhododendron scrub, at 3,000 to 4,300 m
Wild population	Unknown, but decreasing (Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population	42 reported to ISIS

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 16 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Snowyowls

Why do zoos keep this animal

The white-eared pheasant is near-threatened in the wild and listed in appendix I odf CITES. Zoos should therefore have an interest in maintaining viable ex situ populations. There are, however, no regional breeding programmes and the number of birds kept by zoos is rather small.

The species is primarily kept for educational purposes as an example of the subalpine fauna of southern China, along with lesser pandas and Chinese muntjacs.

How this animal should be kept

The white-eared pheasant is very hardy. There are some successful cases of eared pheasants living in liberty in zoos.

It is usually kept in outdoor aviaries of at least 18m² for one pair. The enclosure should include a shelter of at least 3m² for one pair, or at least a suitable cover to protect the birds from heavy rain and wind. The indoor housing doesn’t need to be heated in a temperate climate. A heating lamp may be useful below 0°C.

When designing an aviary it may be worth to ensure that it can be split into two sections in the event of needing to separate the birds, particularly when the hen has chicks.

Sand, natural soil or bark chips are suitable substrates for the aviary, which should be well planted with shrubs. The indoor facilities should be easy to clean and disinfect, such as concrete covered with bark chips. In and outdoors high perches must be in place to allow roosting at night.

White eared pheasants are fed a standard pheasant diet consisting of pellets mixed with wheat, fruit, and salad. Limestone or grit should be available all the time, especially in the case of bark-covered soil, together with fresh water. The food should be placed in the indoor housing or under a cover in order for it to be protected from rain. Before and during the breeding season the feed should be supplemented with vitamins and mineral powder.

The birds should be dewormed twice a year, usually in February and September.