Mountain Bamboo Partridge belongs to Phasianidae family. The Binomial name of this bird is Bambusicola fytchii. It is found in India, Bangladesh, Tibet, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. There are two subspecies of these birds which are subspecies B. fytchii fytchii and subspecies B. fytchii hopkinsoni. In India, these birds are found in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorized this species as "Least Concern".
Physical Features of Mountain Bamboo Partridge
These birds are small in size, measuring 25 to 30 cm in length and weighing 250 to 400 grams. The male birds are larger than the females. The feathers of the birds feature a mix of brown, cream and grey colour. Their breast and abdomen is pale with brown speckles. The Mountain Bamboo Partridges have distinctive black and white eye stripes.
Habitat of Mountain Bamboo Partridge
They prefer to live close to water in bamboo scrub forest, open scrub forest, thickets, and mixed scrub and tall grassland along watercourses. During the daytime they remain under shrub cover and in the early morning they move into the open. They search their food mainly in the late evening. They fly only when they feel threatened, returning to cover quickly. The bird is fairly common throughout its range but the population trend appears to be decreasing.
Breeding of Mountain Bamboo Partridge
The breeding takes place in the months between March and September. The nest is a simple scraped out dip in the ground lined with grass. The incubation period lasts for 18 to 19 days. During the incubation period, the male Mountain Bamboo Partridge stays close to the nest and feeds the female.
Diet of Mountain Bamboo Partridge
The Mountain Bamboo Partridge primarily eats bamboo. However, it also eats a wide variety of seeds, berries, shoots and invertebrates.
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