Time Budgets of Captive Lady Amherst's Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) in Breeding Season

Time budgets in breeding season were studied in two captive groups of Lady Amhersts Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) from March,1987 to July,1990.Percentages of time spent on main activities were:resting 40.46%,walking 38.95%,feeding 11.12%,preening 5.09%,breeding (including display,egg-laying) 3.34%,others (including call,attacking,drinking,dusting,excreting) 1.04%.Clustering various behaviours showed the advertising display was closely related to the precopulatory display in males,while egg-laying,drinking,dusting and preening had close relationship in females.Analysis of variance showed that time budgets between male and female were significantly different (P<0.05).Male spent significantly more time on breeding and preening,and less time on feeding than female.The time budgets in different stages of breeding season were different (P<0.05).The resting,preening,breeding in both sexes,and the walking in female among different stages had significant difference.The frequency of resting in breeding season was significantly lower than that in non-breeding season,while the frequency of preening was significantly higher than that in non-breeding season.Because food was in rich supply,Lady amherst s Pheasant in captivity spent more time in resting than in feeding.The time budgets of captive Lady Amherst s Pheasant were influenced by sexes,age,the stages of breeding season besides the environmental factors,group size and food supply.