Cheer Pheasant

Cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichi)

Status
Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List 2007 and listed on Appendix I of CITES

Range
Native to the southern foothills of the western Himalayas, from north Pakistan, through Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, India, east to central Nepal

Descripton
Although perhaps rather drab in comparison to other pheasant species, the cheer pheasant is no less distinctive, with a narrow, brown hair-like crest a distinguishing feature. The male cheer pheasant has red facial skin, buff-grey plumage with black bars and markings, and a long tail, strongly barred with buff, black and brown. The female is smaller than the male, somewhat duller in plumage and more heavily marked, with reduced red facial skin, a shorter crest and lacking the male’s spurs.