Himalayan snowcock

Description

The tetraogallo Himalayas is a large bird similar to a partridge,of 55-74 cm in length and weighing 2 to 3.1 kg.The motif of the head is similar to that of the smallest and colorful oriental coturnice.The white throat and the sides of the head are surrounded by a sort of chestnut-colored mustache and another wider band,also brown,which departs from the eye,passes behind the ear,and widen in the collar.The upper regions are gray,with the feathers of the rump and the wings surrounded by reddish.The upper part of the breast is gray with dark crescent-shaped spots,while the lower part is dark gray;the sides are covered with black,brown and white streaks.The coverts of the undertail are white.The legs and the eye ring are yellow.Both sexes have a similar plumage,but the females are smaller and are devoid of the large spur on the tarsus present in males.In flight,when seen from above,it is easy to identify it,thanks to the white primary remiges from the black end and from the external feathers of the reddish tail.Tibet's tetraogallo,on the other hand,is characterized by the posterior margin of the white secondary remiges which contrasts sharply with the gray of the wings.