Copper pheasant

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Copper pheasant
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Syrmaticus
Species:
S. soemmerringii
Binomial name
Syrmaticus soemmerringii
(Temminck, 1830)
Specimen – AMNH

The copper pheasant (Syrmaticus soemmerringii), also known as Soemmerring's pheasant or yamadori (ヤマドリ),[2] is a pheasant endemic to the Japanese archipelago. The scientific name commemorates the German scientist Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring. It is the official bird of multiple Japanese prefectures. It was commonly hunted for sport throughout the 20th century.

Its populations has been in consistent decline since the 1970's due to factors including habitat destruction and predation, but the most widely cited cause is overhunting.

Taxonomy[edit]

The copper pheasant was described in 1830 by Coenraad Temmerick[2] as Phasianus soemmerringii.[3] It was placed in the Syrmaticus genus in 1914 by William Beebe, based on similarities between the proposed genus's females.[4] The scientific name commemorates the German scientist Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring,[5] while the ijimae subspecies is named for Isao Ijima[6]

Five subspecies of Copper pheasant are generally recognized, which become progressively darker further south in its distribution:

  • Soermmering's copper pheasant(S. s. soemmeringii) (Temminck, 1830) is found the northern and central Kyushu. The nominate subspecies, it is dark reddish in colour with an amber sheen to the rump and tips of the upper-tail coverts.
  • Ijima copper pheasant(S. s. ijimae) (Dresser, 1902), also known as the koshijiro-yamadori (コシジロヤマドリ)[7] (literally white-waisted yamadori), is found in southeastern Kyushu. It is similiar in appearance to soemmeringii, but the male has a white rump.
  • Scintillating copper pheasant(S. s. scintillans) (Gould, 1866) is found in northern and central Honshu. It is the palest subspecies, with broad white fringes on its belly and flanks.
  • Shikoku copper pheasant(S. s. intermedius) (Kuroda, 1919) is found in Shikoku and southwestern Honshu. Like scintillans, it has white fringes on its belly and flanks, but is darker.
  • Pacific copper pheasant(S. s. subrufus) (Kuroda, 1919) is found in southeastern Honshu and southwestern Shokoku. It has golden fringes on its rump and upper-tail coverts.

Description[edit]

It is a large pheasant with a rich coppery chestnut plumage, yellowish bill, brown iris, and red facial skin. The female is a brown bird with greyish brown upperparts and buff barred dark brown below. The male has short spurs on its grey legs, while the female has none. Males are between 87.5 centimetres (34.4 in) and 136 centimetres (54 in) long, including the tail, while the female is between 51 centimetres (20 in) and 54 centimetres (21 in) (subspecies scintillating copper pheasant, scintillans).[8] Juveniles have similar plumage to females.[9]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

The copper pheasant is distributed in and endemic to the hill and mountain forests of the Honshū, Kyūshū, and Shikoku islands[2] at elevations of up to 1,800 metres (1.1 mi).[10] It typically confines itself to deciduous forest floors with extensive vegetation. However, members of the species also lives in conifer forests. They often nest on the edges of grasslands.[11]

Behavior and ecology[edit]

The bird is not heavily vocal, only occasionally making a "kuk-kuk"-like call when breeding or threatened.[11][12] These pheasants are known to sunbathe, especially when living in grasslands. They roost in trees,[11] and are a non-migratory bird.[10]

Breeding[edit]

The copper pheasant's mating season occurs between March and July, with the exact month depending local climate. During this time, males perform their wing-whirring display[12] and fight other males in an attempt to secure a mate. It is unknown if the species in monogamous.[11]

Copper pheasants typically nest on the ground, but have also been recorded nesting in trees.[13] They often build their nests in locations sheltered by fallen trees.[12][11] Captive birds have a clutch of ten to twenty eggs, while wild birds only have a clutch of seven to thirteen eggs.[12] The cream-coloured[9] or tan[11] eggs take a little over three weeks to hatch, and young birds reach maturity in less than a year.[12] Young are raised by their mother, who will either pretend to attack potential predators or attempt to distract them when needed.[11]

Food and feeding[edit]

The diet consists mainly of insects, arthropods, and acorns,[14] but they also eat a substantial amount of leaf and fern matter.[11]

Threats[edit]

The copper pheasant serves as an important source of prey to Japanese populations of the golden eagle and Hodgson's hawk eagle.[15] It is susceptible to infection by the heterakis gallinarum parasite.[16]

Relationship to humans[edit]

In Japan[edit]

The copper pheasant appears in Japanese poetry as far back as poetry composed by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro in the early 8th century, as compiled in the Hyakunin Isshu:[17]

Ashibiki no yamadori no wo no shidari-wo no naga-nagashi yo wo hitori ka mo nemu
Must I sleep alone through the long autumn nights, long like the dragging tail of the mountain pheasant separated from his dove?

Several screens, dating to the eighth century and incorporating copper pheasant feathers, are kept in the Shōsō-in temple. The screens were mistakenly assumed to be Chinese.[18] Unidentified bones of either copper pheasants or chickens have been found at Japanese archaeological sites from the Kofun period.[19]

The copper pheasant is a popular game animal in Japan.[20] They are hunted both as a source of food and a source of entertainment.[10]

It is the official bird of the Gunma[21] and Akita prefectures.[22] The Ijima subspecies is the official bird of the Miyazaki prefecture.[7] It was chosen in 1964, winning 725 out of 2013 votes in a public vote.[23] The subspecies is also a natural monument in the town of Asagiri, Kumamoto.[24]

It is the official bird of Japanese cities, towns, and villages of Hachimantai,[25] Higashinaruse,[26] Ichinohe,[27] Ikawa,[28] Iwaizumi,[29] Isehara,[30] Kamiyama,[31] Kanegasaki,[32] Karumai,[33]Kitaaiki,[34] Kunohe,[35]Kuzumaki,[36] Mihara,[37] Mogami,[38] Ōkura,[39] Okutama,[40] Shiiba,[41] Sumita,[42] Takayama,[43] Tanohata,[44] Tōno,[45] Yasuoka,[46] Yamakita,[47] and Yuzawa.[48]

The Minebea Mitsumi football club's logo references the Ijima copper pheasant.[49]

Outside Japan[edit]

Outside of Japan, the copper pheasant is kept as a pet or display animal.[10]

In 1922, an addendum to the Plumage Act of 1908 halted the importation of copper pheasant feathers into the UK. They were removed from the list after a year.[50]

From 1907 to 1914, there was a series unsuccessful attempts made by the Hawaii Board of Agriculture and Forestry to establish copper pheasants colonies on the Hawaiian islands.[51][52]

Status[edit]

As of 2016, the copper pheasant was listed as "Near Threatened" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with the exact number of wild adults unknown. It has been listed as a near-threatened species since 2004, but had previously held the same classification in 1988.[10] The ijimae subspecies is protected in Japan,[53] with both S. s. soemmeringii and S. s. ijimae being listed as "Near Threatened" on the Japanese Red List.[54]

In 1995, an IUCN report called for the continued monitoring of the species, citing over-hunting and a lack of knowledge about the species' behaviour as a reason to study and protect them.[55] Threats to the species include non-native predation, overhunting, and habitat destruction.[10] Feral dogs and cats disturb nesting sites, further negatively impacting the species.[56] However, overhunting is widely considered as the greatest threat to the species.[10][20][57]

Throughout the twentieth century half a million[20][53] to 800,000[58] copper pheasants were killed by hunters every year. In 1976, to prevent further decline of the species, it was made illegal in Japan to hunt female copper pheasants.[20][10] The number of birds hunted decreased to 100,000 per year by the 1990s.[58]As of 2006, the number of birds killed annually had dropped to 6,000.[15] To allow for hunting, copper pheasants are bred and released every year throughout Japan,[53] including in regions such as Hokkaido and Sado Island, where they are a non-native species.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Syrmaticus soemmerringii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22679340A92811551. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679340A92811551.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Johnsgard 1999, p. 269.
  3. ^ Temminck, Coenraad J. (1838). Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux : pour servir de suite et de complément aux planches enluminées de Buffon [New collection of colored plates of birds, to serve as a continuation and complement to Buffon's illuminated plates] (in French). Paris. p. 83.
  4. ^ Beebe, William (1914). Preliminary Pheasant Studies. United States. pp. 283–284.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Beolens, Watkins & Grayson 2014, p. 520.
  6. ^ Beolens, Watkins & Grayson 2014, pp. 274–275.
  7. ^ a b 宮崎県. "Ken no ki・ken no hana・ken no tori" 県の木・県の花・県の鳥 [Prefecture tree, prefecture flower, prefecture bird]. 宮崎県 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  8. ^ Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 2, Lynx Edicions, Barcelona
  9. ^ a b McGowan, Phil; Madge, Steve (2010). Pheasants, Partridges & Grouse: Including buttonquails, sandgrouse and allies (illustrated ed.). A & C Black. pp. 320–321. ISBN 978-1-4081-3566-2.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h BirdLife International 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kawaji, Noritomo (2013-11-28). "Copper Pheasant" (PDF). Bird Research News. 3 (11): 4–5. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  12. ^ a b c d e Johnsgard 1999, p. 271.
  13. ^ Kawaji, Noritomo (2006). "Yamadori chijō negura no hatsu kansatsu kiroku" ヤマドリ地上ねぐらの初観察記録 [First observation of ground roosting of the copper pheasant.]. 日本鳥学会誌. 55 (2): 92–95. doi:10.2326/jjo.55.92.
  14. ^ Johnsgard 1999, p. 270.
  15. ^ a b Yamaguchi, Yasuhiro; Kawaji, Noritomo (2003). "Habitat Use of the Copper Pheasant Syrmaticus soemmerringii in Central Japan" (PDF). Bulletin of FFPRI. 2 (3). Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute: 193.
  16. ^ Atkinson, Carter T.; Hunter, D. Bruce; Thomas, Nancy J., eds. (2009-03-10). Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds (2009 ed.). Wiley. p. 391. ISBN 978-0-8138-0457-6.
  17. ^ Mostow, Joshua S. (1996). Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image. University of Hawaii Press. p. 149. ISBN 0-8248-1705-2.
  18. ^ Milburn, Olivia (2020). "Featherwork in Early and Medieval China". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 140 (3): 561. doi:10.7817/jameroriesoci.140.3.0549. ISSN 2169-2289 – via JSTOR.
  19. ^ Russ, Hannah; Vickers, Kim; Rizzetto, Mauro; Viner-Daniels, Sarah; Albarella, Umberto, eds. (2007). The Oxford Handbook of Zooarchaeology. Oxford University Press. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-19-968647-6.
  20. ^ a b c d Johnsgard 1999, p. 272.
  21. ^ "Ken no shiboru" 県のシンボル [Prefecture Symbols]. www.pref.gunma.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  22. ^ "Akita no shinboru (Kiddzupēji)" 秋田のシンボル（キッズページ） [Symbols of the Akita Prefecture (For kids)]. 美の国あきたネット (in Japanese). 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  23. ^ ""Ken no tori" ga kiaru made" 「県の鳥」が決まるまで [Before the prefecture bird was decided]. www.pref.miyazaki.lg.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  24. ^ "Koshijiro-yamadori" コシジロヤマドリ [White-waisted yamadori]. www.town.asagiri.lg.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  25. ^ "Shimin kenshō to ichi no hana tori ki ga kettei shimashita" 市民憲章と市の花・鳥・木が決定しました [Citizen charter and city flowers, birds, and trees decided]. www.city.hachimantai.lg.jp. 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  26. ^ "Gi-kai yō ran" 議 会 要 覧 (PDF). vill.higashinaruse.lg.jp. 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  27. ^ "Ichinohechō no shinboru" 一戸町のシンボル [Symbolc of Ichinohe Town]. www.town.ichinohe.iwate.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  28. ^ "Gappei kyōgi-kaida yori" 合併協議会だより (PDF). town.ikawa.akita.jp. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  29. ^ "Chōka・machi tori・chōboku" 町花・町鳥・町木 [Town flower, town bird, town tree]. www.town.iwaizumi.lg.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  30. ^ "Ichi no ki, ichi no hana, ichi no tori" 市の木、市の花、市の鳥 [City tree, city flower, city bird]. www.city.isehara.kanagawa.jp. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  31. ^ "Ichi・chisei rekishi・enkaku ni tsuite" 位置・地勢、歴史・沿革について [About the location, topography, and history]. town.kamiyama.lg.jp (in Japanese). 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  32. ^ "Machi no gaiyō" 町の概要 [Town overview]. www.town.kanegasaki.iwate.jp. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  33. ^ "Hiro-hō karumai" 広 報 かるまい [Public Relations Karumai] (PDF). town.karumai.iwate.jp. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  34. ^ "Kitaaiki-mura ni tsuite" 北相木村について [About Kitaaiki Village]. vill.kitaaiki.nagano.jp (in Japanese). 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  35. ^ "Sonmin kenshō sonshō yurai" 村民憲章・村章・由来 [Villager Charter/Village Emblem/Origin]. www.vill.kunohe.iwate.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  36. ^ "Gaiyō" 概要 [Overview]. www.town.kuzumaki.lg.jp (in Japanese). 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  37. ^ "Mihara no go shōkai" 三原村のご紹介 [Introduction to Miharu]. www.vill.mihara.kochi.jp. Archived from the original on 2022-03-08.
  38. ^ "Chōshō to machi no ki, hana, tori" 町章と町の木、花、鳥 [Town emblem and town trees, flowers, and birds]. town.mogami.lg.jp. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  39. ^ "Mura no gaiyō" 村の概要 [Village overview]. www.vill.ohkura.yamagata.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  40. ^ "Chōshō ki hana tori" 町章・木・花・鳥 [Town emblem, tree, flower, bird]. www.town.okutama.tokyo.jp (in Japanese). 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  41. ^ "Shībason no gaiyō" 椎葉村の概要 [Overview of Shiiba villiage]. www.vill.shiiba.miyazaki.jp. 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  42. ^ "Me de mite wakaru sumidamachi" 目で見てわかる住田町 [Sumita Town Data] (PDF). town.sumita.iwate.jp/ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  43. ^ "Kōyamamura no gaiyō" 高山村の概要 [Overview of Takayama Village]. vill.takayama.gunma.jp. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  44. ^ "Sonshō mura no shinboru" 村章・村のシンボル [Village coat of arms/village symbol]. www.vill.tanohata.iwate.jp. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  45. ^ "Tōno-shi no hana・tori・ki" 遠野市の花・鳥・木 [Tōno's pfficial flower, bird, and plant]. www.city.tono.iwate.jp (in Japanese). 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  46. ^ "Yasuoka-mura no shōkai" 泰阜村の紹介 [Introduction to Yasuoka Villiage]. www.vill.yasuoka.nagano.jp. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  47. ^ "Chōshō machi no ki hana tori" 町章・町の木・花・鳥 [Town emblem, town tree, flower, bird]. town.yamakita.kanagawa.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  48. ^ "Ichi no hana ki tori" 市の花・木・鳥 [City flower, tree, and bird]. www.city-yuzawa.jp. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  49. ^ "About Us". Minebea Mitsumi FC. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  50. ^ "The Plumage Act". The Times. No. 43424. London, England. 1923-08-20. p. 7.
  51. ^ Schwartz, Charles W.; Schwartz, Elizabeth Reeder (1951). "An Ecological Reconnaissance of the Pheasants in Hawaii". The Auk. 68 (3): 283. doi:10.2307/4080980.
  52. ^ Pyle, Robert L.; Pyle, Peter (2017-01-01). "The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status". hbs.bishopmuseum.org. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  53. ^ a b c McGowan & Garson 1995, p. 50.
  54. ^ "[Honyūrui] Kankyōshō reddo risuto 2020" 【哺乳類】環境省レッドリスト2020 [(Mammals) Ministry of the Environment Red List 2020] (PDF). www.env.go.jp (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. 2020. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  55. ^ McGowan & Garson 1995, p. 97.
  56. ^ McGowan & Garson 1995, p. 8.
  57. ^ Richardson, Matthew (2023). Threatened and Recently Extinct Vertebrates of the World. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-85258-6.
  58. ^ a b Mahood, D.; Benstead, P.; Taylor, J. "Copper Pheasant (Syrmaticus soemmerringii) - BirdLife species factsheet". datazone.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2024-05-11.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2014). The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4729-0574-1.
  • BirdLife International. 2016. Syrmaticus soemmerringii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22679340A92811551. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679340A92811551.en. Accessed on 09 May 2024.
  • Johnsgard, Paul A. (1999). The pheasants of the world: biology and natural history (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-56098-839-7.
  • McGowan, Philip J. K.; Garson, Peter J. (1995). Pheasants: status survey and conservation action plan, 1995-1999 (PDF). WPA/BirdLife/SSC Pheasant Specialist Group, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-8317-0299-5.

External links[edit]

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