432:. They call in the morning and evening, becoming quiet in the middle of the day. They keep to grass-covered plateaus and ridges or to the more barren and stony plains with very little vegetation. Though they do not keep sentries during feeding, while resting in the middle of the day, one or more of adult birds mount high boulders and keep a watch, warning the flocks on the approach of danger with loud prolonged whistles. Several calls have been described that include a chuckling that gradually becomes louder, a whistle and a curlew-like call.
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that forms a wing band. Underparts are white with black streaks on flanks and belly. The tail is rufous brown and the undertail coverts are black. Legs and beaks are reddish. Sexes are similar, but female has buff in postocular patch, blackish and buff marks on sides of head, neck and breast-band, and lacks the tarsal spurs of the male.
285:
Smaller than
Himalayan snowcock, this species has a grey head and neck with a white patch behind the eye and above the dark cheek. Chin, throat and breast are white, with two grey bands on the breast. Grey wing coverts and tertials have a white trim. The secondaries have a broad white trailing edge
435:
During summer, they form pairs and males are believed to be monogynous. The nest is a scrape, sparsely lined and sheltered under a stone or bush usually on the leeward side of a bare hill, and avoiding ground with vegetation. About 4 to 6 eggs are laid. The male stands sentinel while the females
427:
This species is similar to the
Himalayan snowcock, but prefers higher altitudes. During winter, they descend to lower altitudes and move around in coveys. When approached from below on a hill slope, they move up, stopping every now and then to look at the intruder, but when alarmed they fly away
411:
and China. They are found in lower altitudes during winter or when there is heavy snowfall. In parts of its range there appears to be a clear separation of the distribution of this and the
Himalayan snowcock while in others they appear to overlap.
428:
downwards crossing the valley/ravine. The flight is swift and will often make a whistling call in flight. They call several times while alighting and on settling from flight they shake their tails several times in the manner of
390:
are not widely recognized, the former included in the nominate form. The genetic divergence of these populations has been attributed to glacial cycles associated with the uplift of the
Tibetan plateau.
254:. The head is greyish and there is a white crescent patch behind the eye and underside is white with black stripes. In flight the secondaries show a broad white trailing edge.
693:
Bei An; Lixun Zhang; Stephen Browne; Naifa Liu; Luzhang Ruan; Sen Song (2009). "Phylogeography of
Tibetan snowcock (Tetraogallus tibetanus) in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau".
407:
Tibetan snowcock are found on alpine pastures stony ridges above the tree line in the Pamirs of
Tajikistan, Himalayas (from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh), Tibet,
440:
when the young are threatened, while the chicks crouch or hide between stones. Broods of more than one female have been found to form a single foraging group.
415:
Since the
Tibetan snowcock has a large distribution range and no visible declines in population, it has been considered a species of "least concern" by the
995:
1034:
1114:
728:
Luzhang, Ruan; Zhang Lixun; Wen
Longying; Sun Qingwei; Liu Naifa (2005). "Phylogeny and Molecular Evolution of Tetraogallus in China".
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The widely distributed populations show variations in plumage and about five subspecies have been designated:
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Marien, Daniel (1951). "Notes on some pheasants from southwestern Asia, with remarks on molt".
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was described by
Bianchi in 1907, is found from North East India to West Central China
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242:, gallinaceous birds. This species is found in high-altitude regions of the Western
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Yang Lan & Xu Yan-gong (1987). "A new subspecies of the
Tibetan Snowcock -
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The nominate race, described by John Gould in 1853, is distributed across the
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The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 5
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The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 4
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636:(in German). R. Friedlander & Sohn, Berlin. pp. 1899–1901.
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incubate. Both parent birds accompany the brood and adults perform
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342:, described by Meinertzhagen in 1926, is sometimes lumped with
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797:(2nd ed.). Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 432–435.
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538:. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions. p. 119.
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Tibetan Snowcock in Zingral Transit Check Post,Leh,Ladakh
596:(2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 11–13.
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Tibetan Snowcock at Luza, Sagarmatha National Park,Nepal
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458:
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Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 2
350:. This is found in central Tibet and extends to the
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484:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678667A92783560.en
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555:. Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 144–145.
536:Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volume 2
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633:Die Vogel der palaarktischen Fauna. Volume 3
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250:, where it overlaps in part with the larger
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346:. This race is dark, and less fulvous than
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777:The Game birds of India, Burmah and Ceylon
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572:. Edward Lloyd, London. pp. 84–85.
569:A hand-book to the Game-birds. Volume 1
534:Rasmussen PC & JC Anderton (2005).
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280:Gamebirds of India, Burma and Ceylon
1115:IUCN Red List least concern species
774:Hume AO & CHT Marshall (1880).
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470:IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
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672:Tetraogallus tibetanus yunnanensis
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314:. It is paler than the other races
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649:"Description of a new species of
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592:Ali, S & SD Ripley (1980).
459:BirdLife International (2016).
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674:(Galliformes: Phasianidae)".
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566:Ogilvie-Grant, WR (1896).
403:A foraging group in Ladakh
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676:Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica
609:American Museum Novitates
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87:Scientific classification
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811:Photos, videos and calls
477:: e.T22678667A92783560.
290:Taxonomy and systematics
1130:Birds described in 1854
657:Proc. Zool. Soc. London
395:Distribution and status
306:, southeast to Western
234:in the pheasant family
1092:Tetraogallus-tibetanus
874:Tetraogallus_tibetanus
860:Tetraogallus tibetanus
830:Tetraogallus tibetanus
463:Tetraogallus tibetanus
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196:Tetraogallus tibetanus
549:Blanford, WT (1898).
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730:Biochemical Genetics
647:Gould, John (1853).
506:"Appendices | CITES"
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791:Baker, ECS (1928).
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382:Some races such as
40:Conservation status
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274:Illustration from
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252:Himalayan snowcock
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1061:Open Tree of Life
822:Taxon identifiers
780:. Self published.
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178:T. tibetanus
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165:Tetraogallus
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983:iNaturalist
854:Wikispecies
490:12 November
388:yunnanensis
366:przewalskii
348:aquilonifer
344:przewalskii
318:aquilonifer
258:Description
240:Galliformes
236:Phasianidae
154:Phasianidae
144:Galliformes
1109:Categories
1087:Xeno-canto
515:2022-01-14
444:References
332:, western
304:Tajikistan
73:Appendix I
1120:Snowcocks
617:2246/3909
510:cites.org
340:centralis
322:Himalayas
244:Himalayas
172:Species:
110:Kingdom:
104:Eukaryota
1074:Species+
1027:22678667
1001:10585297
900:22678667
895:BirdLife
839:Wikidata
758:22840462
750:16341767
715:19111936
409:Pakistan
354:and the
246:and the
230:) is a
150:Family:
124:Chordata
120:Phylum:
114:Animalia
100:Domain:
60:IUCN 3.1
1066:1033586
975:2473447
949:tibsno1
923:tibsno1
882:Avibase
845:Q747124
376:Sichuan
372:henrici
160:Genus:
140:Order:
130:Class:
75: (
58: (
1040:267427
1014:175954
957:EURING
913:113385
756:
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334:Bhutan
330:Sikkim
312:Ladakh
300:Pamirs
205:, 1854
1053:70257
996:IRMNG
944:eBird
936:55QX4
920:BOW:
754:S2CID
659:: 47.
360:India
326:Nepal
308:Tibet
203:Gould
77:CITES
71:CITES
1079:8463
1035:NCBI
1022:IUCN
1009:ITIS
970:GBIF
962:3530
908:BOLD
746:PMID
711:PMID
492:2021
475:2016
417:IUCN
386:and
352:Abor
310:and
276:Hume
232:bird
220:The
134:Aves
988:585
931:CoL
869:ADW
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613:hdl
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