ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE

Hunting and habitat degradation remain the biggest threats of this ground-dwelling bird

- ASAD R RAHMANI

Chir-a-pir chir-a-pir chir chir-chirwa chirwa and chewewoo. This unmistakable call, loud and sharp, once echoed across the steep valleys of western Himalayas, earning the pheasant its local name, “chir”, and its English name, the “cheer” pheasant. But this call is becoming increasingly faint.

BirdLife International and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classify the cheer pheasant as Vulnerable, a reflection of its small and naturally fragmented populations. Today, the species clings to scattered patches of Himalayan grassland, from northern Pakistan through Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, to central Nepal. It favours steep, rocky hillsides studded with scrub, stunted trees and grassy slopes between 1,200 and 3,350 metres.