Egg-laying Time and Laying Intervals in Blood Pheasant

The different bird species lay their eggs at different times of the day and at different intervals.The patterns of egg-laying have not been well studied,although that may influence the reproductive success.We determined the egg-laying time and laying intervals in Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus) by using the temperature data loggers,which were connected with the artificial eggs fixed in the natural nests,at Lianhuashan Nature Reserve,China.The egg-laying hour of the day was 15:16±22 min (range:13:30-18:51) and peaked around 14:00-16:00.The female spent (2.2±0.26) h on the nest as each egg was laid.The egg-laying intervals was (46.4±3.08) h and the most of that were between 45.8-48.9 h.The pattern selecting to lay at the particular time of the day might be related to avoid nocturnal periods of high predator activity.The more than one days intervals of blood pheasant might be the adaptation to the severe environment of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.