Lophura edwardsi

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Pangalloanserae
Cladus: Galloanseres
Ordo: Galliformes

Familia: Phasianidae
Subfamilia: Phasianinae
Genus: Lophura
Species: Lophura edwardsi
Name

Lophura edwardsi (Oustalet, 1896)

Type locality: Quảng Trị, Vietnam ["Kuang-tri (Annam)"]
Synonymy

Gennæus Edwardsi (protonym)
Lophura hatinhensis Võ Quý, 1975

Lophura edwardsi

References
Primary references

Oustalet, É. 1896. Description de cinq espèces nouvelles d'oiseaux appartenant au Muséum d'histoire naturelle et provenant de la Chine et de l'Indo-Chine. Bulletin du Muséum d'histoire naturelle 2(7): 314–317. BHL ARK: 12148/bpt6k5528699f/f14.item# Reference page. p. 316

Additional references

Mahood, S., Hennache, A., Eames, J. C., & Randi, E. 2012. Lophura hatinhensis is an invalid taxon. Forktail 28: 129–135. BHL.

Links

IUCN: Lophura edwardsi (Critically Endangered)

Vernacular names
العربية: تدرج إدواردس
български: Едуардов фазан
brezhoneg: Fazan Edwards
català: Faisà d'Edwards
čeština: Bažant Edwardsův
Cymraeg: Ffesant Edwards
Deutsch: Edwardsfasan
English: Edwards's Pheasant
Esperanto: Eduarda fazano
español: Faisán de Edwards
فارسی: قرقاول ادوارد
suomi: Annaminfasaani
français: Faisan d'Edwards
magyar: Vietnámi fácán
italiano: Fagiano di Edwards
日本語: コサンケイ
한국어: 쇠산계
Nederlands: Edwards' fazant
polski: Kiściec annamski
پنجابی: ایڈورڈ بن ککڑ
português: Faisão-de-eduardo
русский: Лофура Эдвардса
slovenčina: Bažant pestrý
svenska: Edwardfasan
Tiếng Việt: Gà lôi lam mào trắng
中文: 愛氏鷴

Edwards's pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) is a bird of the pheasant family Phasianidae and is endemic to the seasonal tropical forests of central Vietnam. It is named after the French ornithologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards and first described to science in 1896.[3] The bird's length is 58–65 centimetres (23–26 in)[4] and has red legs and facial skin. The male is mainly blue-black with a crest, and the female is a drab brown bird. The alarm call is a puk!-puk!-puk!.

There are two varieties; the nominate form L. e. edwardsi has a white crest and upper tail, whereas the northern form, usually called Vietnamese pheasant, is found with a variable number of white rectrices. This difference in the two forms may be due to inbreeding of a restricted, fragmented population there, and has also been seen in captive, inbred L. edwardsi.

In 2012 the nominate form of Edwards's pheasant have been uplisted to Critically Endangered by BirdLife International, having suffered from deforestation, hunting and the use of defoliants during the Vietnam War. The population is currently believed to number between 50 and 249 birds in the wild, mostly of the nominate form, but it is doing well in captivity, where it is the subject of ex situ conservation. There have been no confirmed sightings of a living individual in the wild since 2000 and in 2010 the World Pheasant Association (WPA) received funding from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund to survey forests in the central Vietnam provinces of Quảng Bình and Quảng Trị.[5]
Taxonomy and systematics

Edwards's pheasant was first observed in 1896. Twenty-eight years later, another species of Lophura, the Imperial pheasant (Lophura imperialis), was seen in the border area between Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces.[4] It was later proven to be a crossbreed between the Edwards's pheasant and the Silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera).[6] Lophura hatinhensis is considered a variant of Lophura edwardsi.
Description

Edwards pheasants have a body length of 58-65 cm, including the tail length, which is about 24-26 cm for males, and 20-22 cm for females. Males are heavier, with a weight between 1115-1100 g, and females around 1050 g. Males are all black, with a blue tint throughout their feathers. Females are generally chestnut-brown with no crest.[7]
Distribution and habitat

Edwards's pheasant is endemic to central Vietnam and has been found in four provinces (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue). They live in evergreen forests with lots of palms and patches of bamboo. The birds often hide in the low vegetation, and females dig their nests in the grounds of these forests. Edward's pheasants do not commonly migrate because they are not affected by cold weather and can spend most winters outside.[7]
Ecology
Song and call

Male birds have a wing-whirring sound. Their alarm call is a low guttural "uk uk uk uk uk", sometimes a hard "puk puk puk puk puk".[7]
Diet

Edward's pheasants have rarely been observed in the wild, so little is known about its behavior in its natural habitat.

An Edwards's pheasant at Denver Zoo’s diet consists of mealworms, chopped fruit, and greens, specially formulated game bird diet.[8]
Reproduction

Edward's pheasants usually breed between the months of March and May. Males push their chests, vibrate their wings, and erect the feathers on their backs to find their mate. Females can begin to breed after two years, while their maximum fertility is usually around ages 4-5.[9] On average, females lay between 4-7 eggs each time. The females make the nests well hidden and dug into the group, usually with plant debris and bamboo overtop.[9] The female incubates eggs for around 20-22 days. However, the male remains stationed close to guard the bird. The eggs are round and have a faint pink color with dotted cream spots. Juveniles are primarily chestnut-brown.[7]
Conservation status and management

Lophura edwardsi was assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2018 and listed as Critically Endangered. It is one of the most endangered species of Galliformes. Their population is decreasing, with 50-249 mature individuals right now, according to IUCN Red List. Any remaining subpopulations are likely to be extremely small and declining. They have not been spotted in the wild since the year 2000. Intense hunting and trapping, habitat loss due to herbicide spraying during the Vietnam War, logging, and clearance for agriculture has significantly affected the population of this species. Khe Nuoc Trong, Bac Huong Hoa, Phong Dien,[10] and Ke Go are reserves where these birds could reside. An Action Plan was published for this species in 2015.

The Phong Điền Nature Reserve was initially designated to protect the Edward's pheasant after the rediscovery of the species in the area in 1996.[10] In 2018, a photograph of a dead female Edwards's pheasant was taken in A Lưới District, which includes part of Phong Điền; this marked the first evidence of a wild Edwards's pheasant in almost two decades, and indicates that the species may still persist in the reserve.[11][10]
References

Pheasants, Partridges and Grouse by Madge and McGowan, ISBN 0-7136-3966-0

BirdLife International (2018). "Lophura edwardsi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T45354985A129928203. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T45354985A129928203.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins (2004). Whose Bird?: Common Bird Names and the People They Commemorate. Whose Bird?: Common Bird Names and the People They Commemorate. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-300-10359-5.
Birdlife International
Grainger, Matthew (6 September 2011). "One of our pheasant's is missing". Birdguides. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
"Vietnam Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi) - BirdLife species factsheet". datazone.birdlife.org. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
McGowan, Philip J. K.; Kirwan, Guy M.; Christie, David (2020). "Edwards's Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi), version 1.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.edwphe1.01.
"Jake the Edwards's Pheasant". Denver Zoo. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
"About Vietnam Pheasant". vietnampheasant.org. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
United States Agency for International Development (2018). "PHONG DIEN NATURE RESERVE" (PDF). USAID.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 June 2021.
"Camera trap pics of rare species in Vietnam raise conservation hopes". Mongabay Environmental News. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.