The Hainan partridge (''Arborophila ardens'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Phasianidae The Phasianidae are a family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular gamebirds. The family is a large one ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Hainan Island Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slight ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are primary evergreen forests. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and has been assessed as a vulnerable species.

Taxonomy

This species was described by Styan in 1892. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

Description

The Hainan partridge is long. The male weighs about , and the female weighs about . The head is blackish, and there is a white patch on the ear coverts and a whitish

supercilium The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...

. The crown and nape are dark brown, with black mottles. The upperparts are olive-brown and have black scales. The throat and neck-sides are blackish, and there is an orange collar around the lower neck. The underparts are grey, and the central belly is buffish. The wings are greyish-brown. The beak is black, the eyes are brown, and the legs are dull reddish. The female is smaller and less bright than the male.

Distribution and habitat

The Hainan partridge is endemic to Hainan, although there are unsubstantiated reports from

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...

. Its habitat is primary evergreen forests that are broadleaved or mixed coniferous-broadleaved, at elevations of . It also occurs in forests that have recovered from logging.

Behaviour

There is little information about this partridge's behaviour. It presumably behaves like other species in its genus. Single birds, pairs and coveys have been observed. It eats snails and seeds. Its call is two notes repeated, including ''ju-gu ju-gu ju-gu''. Sometimes a second bird gives quick single notes.

Status

The population has been estimated at 2600–3500 mature birds, but may be larger because new populations were discovered in 2002 to 2005. There was probably a rapid population decline because of habitat loss. New populations have been discovered since 2002 and more forest has been protected, so the decline may have slowed. The species is threatened by forest clearance for timber and agriculture, and illegal hunting. Climate change may also be a threat. Because of its small, declining population and small range, the IUCN has assessed it as a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

. In China, the Hainan partridge is a nationally protected species. Of the of suitable habitat, are in nature reserves such as

Hainan Bawangling National Nature Reserve The Hainan Bawangling National Nature Reserve () is a nature reserve in Changjiang County, western Hainan, China. It is home to the Hainan black crested gibbon, which is on the verge of extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of ...

, Jianfengling, Wuzhishan, Diaoluoshan Limushan and Nanweiling.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1268165 Hainan partridge Birds of Hainan Endemic birds of China Endemic fauna of Hainan Hainan partridge Hainan partridge Taxonomy articles created by Polbot