The Study on Diet of Temmink's Tragopan

From November 1993 to October 1994,the diet of Temmincks Tragopan (Tragopan temminckii) was studied in Xianrenshan area of Guizhou Province with field observations,trace checking,dropping analysis and crop examinations.Radiotelemetry was used for tracing three Temmincks Tagopans.The results of diet analysis were as follows:Temmincks Tragopan performed 5 types of feeding patterns,e.g.pecking,digging,jump-feeding,chase-feeding and feeding on trees with pecking as the main pattern.They moved to rugged areas in snowy weather;and prefered to feeding along the trails in valleys when its raining or foggy.This behaviour is closely related to the food supplies.The pheasant was found to have 87 food items throughout the year.The food items of Spring,Summer,Autumn and Winter were 59,28,24 and 44,respectively.The diet was significantly different between seasons.In the same season,the diet varied with areas and individuals.Generally,Temminck Tragopans fed on a variety of herbs and ferns in winter and spring.In summer and autumn,they fed on fruits of several species of bushes and trees,as well as herb seeds.The fruit of Alangium chinense and Macrocarpium chinensis were the main food in autumn.Different from Cabots Tragopan,Temmincks Tragopan feed on a number of different kinds of food without relying on one of them.This is probably one of the important reasons that Temmincks Tragopan has larger distribution area and is more common than Cabots Tragopan.