This Chinese EBA is in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and falls within central and western Sichuan, south-east Qinghai and southern Gansu provinces and extreme eastern Tibet autonomous region; it includes the Qionglai Shan, Min Shan, Daxue Shan and Shaluli Shan ranges. The restricted-range birds occur in the subalpine and upper temperate zones of these mountains, between about 2,700 and 4,900 m, and the boundary to the EBA has been drawn only approximately, based upon the documented records of the birds and their altitudinal limits. However, detailed contour data are not available for most of the region, and much of the land within this boundary is above 4,900 m and unsuitable for the restricted-range species.

In the Qionglai Shan and Min Shan there is geographical overlap between this EBA and the Central Sichuan mountains (EBA 137), but the restricted-range birds of that EBA tend to occur at lower altitudes, in the temperate zone. The Yunnan mountains (EBA 139) are adjacent to the southern part of the West Sichuan mountains but there is probably no geographical overlap and the birds of that EBA also tend to occur at lower altitudes.

Of the three species present, Perisoreus internigrans and Strix davidi are found in subalpine coniferous forest, and Lophophorus lhuysii in rhododendron scrub and open areas above the treeline. The first two appear to be associated with relatively dry coniferous forest having a poorly developed understorey, in contrast to the restricted-range birds of the Central Sichuan mountains which occur in wetter forests with a dense understorey, typically of bamboo. All three species are known from the Qionglai Shan and Min Shan ranges (although P. internigrans only appears to be present in the north of the Qionglai Shan), but their ranges are incompletely documented in the western part of the EBA, where they are all known by no more than a few widely scattered records.

The forests in the Daxue Shan and Shaluli Shan are part of the second most important timber-producing region in China, and are being rapidly exploited. Forest cover in Sichuan province is estimated to have been reduced from 19% to 12.6% between the early 1950s and 1988, with mature natural forest being particularly affected (Smil 1984, 1993). All three of the restricted-range species are classified as threatened: the two forest species because of this rapid rate of habitat loss, and Lophophorus lhuysii because of hunting and habitat degradation caused by overgrazing (McGowan and Garson 1995). A more widespread threatened species which occurs in the EBA is White Eared-pheasant Crossoptilon crossoptilon (classified as Vulnerable).

The restricted-range birds of this EBA occur in several of the reserves established for the conservation of giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca in the Qionglai Shan and Min Shan ranges (see IUCN 1992d, 1993), although Perisoreus internigrans appears to have been recorded in only two of these reserves in the Min Shan. There are no protected areas in the western part of the EBA.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: West Sichuan mountains. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/133 on 22/11/2024.