EDWARDS’S PHEASANT

Also known as Vietnam pheasant, this pheasant was previously classified as two different species – L. edwardsi and L. hatinhensis. Historically, it was found in lowland forests on the eastern slopes of the Annamites of central Viet Nam, in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces. Although it was a fairly common species in the past, no wild individuals have been recorded since 2000, when a male bird was confiscated from a hunter and held in captivity in the Hai Lang District Forest Protection Department in Quang Tri. In 2011, dedicated camera-trap surveys were conducted in the Khe Nuoc Trong Watershed Protection Forest and Quang Binh and Dakrong Nature Reserve, but no birds of this species were found. The IUCN Red List, assessed in 2018 by BirdLife International, gives an estimated population of between 50 and 249 individuals, but some researchers have suggested it may be extinct in the wild.

A lowland species commonly found in humid forests with thick undergrowth until the 1990s. The primary forest in this pheasant’s historical range has been largely cleared for agriculture and logged for timber. Heavy use of herbicide during the Viet Nam war is also thought to have been a major cause of species decline in these forests. The remaining fragments of humid forest may not be enough for the continued persistence of this species, and any populations that exist may be very small and highly threatened.

Additionally, heavy hunting pressure and indiscriminate snaring pose a major threat. Particularly in central Viet Nam, snare densities are higher than in the rest of the region and almost every location is riddled with snares. Since so few of these birds exist in the wild, it is no longer specially targeted for hunting, but may be caught in snares set for more common ground-dwelling birds, like the red junglefowl.

In the past, this species was illegally trafficked to China and legally exported to Europe for captive breeding. More than 1,000 individuals live in captivity in different parts of the world including in Viet Nam, North America and Europe. If suitable habitat is identified, and with effective management of protected areas and hunting reduction, the captive populations could be used to repopulate the wild.

BirdLife International. 2018. Lophura edwardsi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T45354985A129928203. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T45354985A129928203.en Accessed 9 May 2023.