Cheer Pheasant is a threatened pheasant found in the Himalaya,
occurring in India, Nepal and Pakistan.
"Cheer" refers to the birds
occurrence near Chir Pine forests and "Pheasant" means a member
of the game-bird family which mostly include ground dwelling birds.
Males and females of this species look very similar except that male
birds have a relatively longer tail and crest.
Cheer Pheasant occurs in a grassland habitat combined with short
trees and shrubs in elevations between 1500 - 3000m. They breed
in steep cliff-like places by making a ground nest during April - June.
During the breeding season, a female Cheer Pheasant lays up to 5 - 10 eggs
(sometimes 12) and incubates them from around 28 davs. Both male and
female take of the care of chicks until the next breeding season. During
this period, they teach chicks survival techniques such as winter survival,
finding food and avoiding predators. In captivity, Cheer Pheasants live for
more than 10 year