• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2013	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2012	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(i)
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	high
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	160,500 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	5000-15000 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2023
Population trend	stable	poor	suspected	-
Generation length	8.1 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	4	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: Population size not well estimated, but may be relatively small. Previously thought to number c.5,000-17,000 birds, of which c.3,300-11,000 were thought to be mature individuals (BirdLife International 2001: Li and Liu 1993, Zhang 1998, Zhang Z.(verbally) 1999). The population has probably remained relatively stable since this time, and may have increased slightly in response to an increase in the extent of suitable habitat. In the absence of any data from which to curate a more accurate estimate, the population size is estimated to number 5,000-15,000 mature individuals, but this requires verification using more accurate survey methods.

Trend justification: Current distribution evidently much contracted from pre-exploitation of C. mantchuricum and the forests in its range. Where it was once widely distributed in Shanxi, the east and centre of Shaanxi, and the west and north of Hebei, its current distribution is more or less confined to the Huanglongshan in Shaanxi, the Luliang Mountains in west Shanxi, the XiaoWutai Mountains in Hebei, and parts of the Baihua Mountains west of Beijing city (Li et al. 2016). The chief cause of this range contraction has been a reduction in habitat extent, however data in Li et al. (2016) suggest that the extent of habitat has increased in the last three decades, a fact also supported by a more recent appraisal of suitable habitat extent, which showed an increase of c. 5% between 2010 and 2020 (analysed by sRedList [2023], using data from Jung et al. [2020]). How this translates into trends for this species is difficult to determine, but it is likely that the population of this species is now relatively stable.

The overall trend of the small, isolated population west of Beijing city is difficult to evaluate. In Xiaowutaishan National Nature Reserve (NNR), population densities fell from 11.45 to 3.68 birds/km² between 1996 and 2017 (Wang and An 2007, Liu 2017), an outcome attributed to increased recreational disturbance, but in Baihuashan NNR, it increased from 0.98 to 2.66 birds/km² between 1993 and 2017 (Li and Liu 1993, Liu 2017). However, the total area of suitable habitat available to this population increased, from 225 to 248 km² between 1995 and 2013 (most of this area increase was from outside the protected area network, with the area of habitat within Xiaowutaishan NNR falling from 58 km² to 33 km²) and fragmentation reduced (all data from Song et al. 2020).

Overall the global population of this species is suspected to be stable, with increases in suitable habitat thought to offset localised declines due to disturbance.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
China (mainland)	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
China (mainland)	Dongling Shan
China (mainland)	Huanglong Shan Brown Eared-pheasant Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Luya Shan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Pangquangou Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Tianlongshan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Wulu Shan Nature Reserve
China (mainland)	Xiaowutai Nature Reserve

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Temperate	major	resident
Shrubland	Temperate	major	resident
Altitude	1100 - 2600 m	Occasional altitudinal limits	(min) 1000 m

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Residential & commercial development	Housing & urban areas	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Brown Eared-pheasant Crossoptilon mantchuricum. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/brown-eared-pheasant-crossoptilon-mantchuricum on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.