The Tibetan Snowcock is a large pheasant-family bird of the highlands of Central and South Asia. It is found in mountain landscapes with grassland and rocky ground.
Males have a gray head and neck, a white throat and breast, and black bars on the lower body. Females are paler and less patterned.
On China’s Mount Gongga, Tibetan Snowcocks are active by day and travel together. Cameras recorded single birds and groups of two or more, including one group of thirteen.
Cameras surveyed the western slope from late June to early November 2016. Detections ranged from 4,118 to 5,084 metres. The highest detection was also at the highest camera station, directly documenting use of terrain above five thousand metres.
Photographic records peaked at 08:00–10:00 and 18:00–20:00. Models estimated greater habitat use at higher elevations and on gentler slopes, describing local patterns in both space and time.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The 2019 paper recommends long-term monitoring to assess future effects of warming, including cameras above the highest surveyed station to clarify high-elevation habitat use and its changes.