Temminck's Tragopan

(Tragopan temminckii)

The following article was submitted by Brian Shamblin.

Temminck's Tragopan Male Photo by Monte Nord

The Temminck's Tragopan, or Crimson Bellied Tragopan as it is sometimes called, is arguably one of the most beautiful of all of the pheasants. The male's plumage is dominated by brilliant orange-red. The breast and abdomen feathers are bright orange with tear-shaped white centers tinged in pinkish-gray. The back and rump feathers are dark reddish-orange with tiny white centers edged in black. The tail is brown barred and stippled with black at the base turning to black at the tip. His face is fluorescent light blue. His lappet, which is usually tucked away and is only visible during display, is bright light blue with a darker blue central patch and a border of peculiar shaped dark red markings. The female is cryptically colored and therefore is much drabber than her more showy mate. In general, she is a combination of browns and grays with black and buff markings. She is very similar to the female Satyr Tragopan which unfortunately creates problems with accidental hybridization between the two species in captivity. The Satyr hen is usually slightly larger, has finer markings, and sports a redder cast to her plumage than the Temminck's.

The Temminck's Tragopan occupies the largest distribution of all of the Tragopans in the wild. It is endemic to northeastern Assam in India, northeastern Burma, the extreme northwestern portion of Tonkin in Vietnam, and much of central China, including eastern Tibet, Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Hunan Provinces. Temminck's are found in thick mountain forests in these regions in several different habitats but always where undergrowth in the form of bamboo thickets or rhododendron brakes are present. They have been found in mixed forests as low as 3,500 feet and in coniferous forests as high in elevation as 12,500 feet. Temminck's are solitary as a rule and are highly arboreal for pheasants. This species is omnivorous, eating both vegetation and insect matter. The diet is primarily comprised of leaves, buds, grasses, seeds, and berries. The female usually prefers to nest in a bush or tree a few feet off of the ground, though Li Xiangtao found a nest that one enterprising Temminck's hen had built in a tree over twenty-five feet above the ground!

In captivity, Temminck's are the best established and easiest to raise of the Tragopans. The introduction of fresh blood imported by the San Diego Zoo from the Chengdu Zoo, Sichuan, China greatly boosted the strength and virility of captive stock. Temminck's have been breeding in greater and greater numbers over the past few years. Due to the access to overwhelming breeding success, prices have subsequently fallen. This discourages some breeders but allows many people who previously couldn't afford them the opportunity to keep this beautiful species.

In captivity, Temminck's seem to behave in much the same way they do in the wild. Because of their high altitude haunts, they are hardy to cold but don't tolerate a great deal of heat and humidity too well. Temminck's enjoy a large pen planted with trees and bushed for shade and cover. Just as in the wild, they love to spend a good deal of time off the ground, and they benefit from multiple roosting sites. Temminck's enjoy flying and exercising. They will eat a wide variety of natural foods, including leaves, berries, nuts, chopped fruit, vegetables, greens, and live food in the form of mealworms and crickets. Temminck's do well on a game bird pellet with the addition of a small amount of mixed grain scratch feed or wild bird seed.

Temminck's Tragopan Female Photo by Monte Nord

The male will begin displaying to the females in the spring. His courtship consists of a simple lateral display and a full frontal display. In the lateral display, the male stands along side the female and seems to shift all of his weight on the side facing the female. He commences to blow up and puff out his feathers, making himself look as large and robust as possible. The frontal display is a complicated series of display patterns. The male jerks his head sharply, revealing his fleshy horns and bib. He then begins a frenzy of activity. As he beats his wings violently and vibrates his horns, his lappet continues to unfold. As the bib opens fully, it covers the better portion of his breast. The male then begins to call to the female with his beak seemingly buried in the lappet. The male continues this display with outstrecthed lappet and fully exposed horns for over a minute until the horns disappear under the feathers of the head, the lappet is tucked away, and the ruffled plumage slicks back down to normal. The lateral display seems to be more common and readily used than the frontal display. While I've seen my male perform countless lateral displays, I have only seen the frontal display twice in two years.

Temminck's seem to breed in well in pairs or with multiple females. Breeding season usually goes smoothly as long as the females get along. Temminck's males will display frequently and will pursue the females regularly during the breeding season, but they usually never become overly aggressive. Females generally prefer to nest off the ground, so its important to provide elevated nesting sites to prevent hens laying off the roosts. I like to give the female a choice by including multiple nests in each aviary; this is especially important if there are multiple females in one pen. Nests in the form of sturdy baskets or boxes can be mounted to a roost or the side of the aviary. (Be sure predators don't have any eggs or the female herself if you mount the nest to the aviary wall. These nests should be secured firmly in place so that any eggs don't topple out. They are best placed under a shelter. The female will usually lay between three and five rather large, pinkish eggs a day apart. Incubation generally lasts about twenty-eight days. The eggs can be incubated artificially, or the hen can be allowed to set her own clutch. As a rule, Temminck's hens make good mothers. I've even heard a few different cases where the male brooded chicks.

The chicks hatch out large, strong, and with well developed wings. They can fly very effectively within only a few days. I learned this the hard way after having to chase down a three-day-old Temminck's chick that decided to see the countryside while I was trying to feed and water!! Temminck's chicks seem to mature rather slowly in comparison to the chicks of many other pheasant species, so they should be provided with a quality diet complete with all of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients essential to proper development. They enjoy livefood and chopped greens from a very young age.

Temminck's Tragopans are excellent aviary birds. Provided they are given ample room to exercise and plenty of shade, they thrive in captivity. Temminck's are very tame as a rule; most birds will eat out of their keepers' hand. All told, Temminck's are an excellent addition to any pheasant collection.

REFERENCES
Delacour, Jean. The Pheasants of the World. Spur Publications. 1977.
Xiangtao, Li. Crimson-Bellied Tragopans. International Academic Publishers. 1991.