Mrs. Hume's pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) belongs to the pheasant family Phasianidae. Mrs. Hume's pheasants are distributed in China, India, Myanmar and Thailand. There are two recognized subspecies of these pheasants. The subspecies S. h. humiae occurs in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh States of India and Myanmar. It is the state bird of Mizoram. The subspecies S. h. burmanicus is found in Thailand and Myanmar.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had categorized and evaluated these pheasant species and had listed them as 'Near Threatened'.
These pheasants are medium sized birds. The males measure 90 cm in length including 50 cm tail. The females are 60 cm long including 20 cm tail. The male birds weigh 950 to 1,100 grams and the females weigh 650 to 850 grams. The head is greyish brown and the bare facial skin is red. The bill is yellow and the iris is orange in color. The males have long greyish white tail with black and brown bars. Mrs. Hume's pheasants inhabit open oak–pine forests and feed on insects, fruits, seeds, leaves, buds and roots. They breed during March and are polygamous. The nests are found to contain three to twelve eggs.
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| Indian birds - Mrs. Hume's pheasant |
| Biological classification of Syrmaticus humiae | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Subfamily: | Phasianinae |
| Genus: | Syrmaticus |
| Species: | S. humiae |
| Binomial name: | Syrmaticus humiae |
| Distribution: | China, India, Burma and Thailand; |
| Feeding habits: | seeds, insects, roots, leaves, shoots; |
| IUCN status listing: | Near Threatened |
Image source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Syrmaticus_humiae.jpg
Author: Hume and Marshall | License: Public domain
Current topic in Birds of India: Mrs. Hume's pheasant - Syrmaticus humiae.