A large pheasant-family bird of high mountains from Central Asia to the Himalaya.
It has a gray body, white throat, brown lines on the neck, and orange-brown flank markings.
Himalayan Snowcocks occur in grassland, rocky and cliff habitats, shrubland and snow-covered areas. In Nepal’s Dhorpatan, records span this mixture of high mountain conditions.
During fieldwork from 15 March to 15 June 2022, a camera monitoring mammals also photographed a snowcock. Researchers supplemented camera data with opportunistic sightings and documented the species at 18 locations, at elevations of 3757–4408 metres.
The records included grassy ground as well as places dominated by snow or bare rock. They documented the species across several highland locations in a reserve where it had received little detailed study, revealing habitat use beyond grassland alone.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The 2023 report calls for reassessing the species’ distribution in Nepal’s highlands. Surveys of poorly explored areas can provide the basis for species-specific management planning. The Dhorpatan records contribute local evidence for that work.