Pheasants and partridges
Snow partridge
The snow partridge (Lerwa lerwa) is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae found widely distributed across the high-altitude Himalayan regions of India, Pakistan, Nepal and China. It is the only species within its genus. The species is found in alpine pastures and open hillside above the treeline but not in as bare rocky terrain as the Himalayan snowcock and is not as wary as that species. Males and females look similar in plumage but males have a spur on their tarsus
This species was first described by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1833 and given the genus name Lerwa based on the Bhutia name for it in Nepal. Hodgson initially placed it in the genus Perdix calling it Perdix lerwa. A subspecies, L. l. major was described by Richard Meinertzhagen from Szechuan while L. l. callipygia from south Kansu was noted by Stegmann in 1938, but these are not usually recognized.
The species has been retained in this monotypic genus due to various
peculiarities including the tarsus feathering and the lack of clear
sexual dimorphism in plumage. A species of bird louse, Chelopistes lervicola
has been described as an ectoparasite of this species, and other
species in this louse genus are known to parasitize the Cracidae,
Meleagrididae and Odontophorinae of the New World.
Behaviour and ecology
The snow partridge is found is small groups, usually about 6 to 8 but up to 30 during the non-breeding season. When flushed, they usually fly up before scattering away with noisy wing beats. The flight is rapid and stirring. It has a habit of sunning itself on rocks during the midday.The call in the breeding season is said to resemble that of the grey francolin of the plains. It has been compared in habit to that of the ptarmigan. It is said to feed on mosses, lichens, berries, and the shoots of plants. It also swallows grit to aid digestion.The breeding season is May to July. The males are believed to be monogynous. The nest is a scrape on a hill-side under some sheltering rock, either scratched out by themselves or already available, and usually hidden with vegetation. The nest is sometimes lined with moss but well concealed although given away by the male. About 3 to 5 eggs, pale yellow in color and slightly glossy with reddish-brown markings on the rounded end, are laid, and the female incubates while the male stands sentinel. Parent birds may use distraction displays to draw the attention of predators. They call in a comparatively softer lower note to the young, which respond with chicken-like cheep calls.
Apart from Chelopistes lervicola described as an ectoparasite of this species, an Argasid tick Argas himalayensis has been noted.
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