Eared pheasant
The eared pheasants are birds in the genus Crossoptilon in the family Phasianidae. Established by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1838, the genus contains four species:
Image | Name | Common name | Distribution |
Crossoptilon crossoptilon | White eared pheasant | China, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Tibet | |
Crossoptilon harmani | Tibetan eared pheasant | southeast Tibet and adjacent northern India | |
Crossoptilon mantchuricum | Brown eared pheasant | northeastern China | |
Crossoptilon auritum | Blue eared pheasant | central China |
The name Crossoptilon is a combination of the Greek words krossoi, meaning "fringe" and ptilon, meaning "feather"— a name Hodgson felt particularly applied to the white eared pheasant “distinguished amongst all its congeners by its ample fringe-like plumage, the dishevelled quality of which is communicated even to the central tail feathers”. All are large, sexually monomorphic and found in China.