Microscopic analysis on winter plant food of Syrmaticus humiae （Hume’s pheasant） in Dazhongshan，Yunnan

Key words: 
• zoology /
• Syrmaticus humiae /
• microscopic analysis /
• plant food

Abstract: In order to explore the foraging strategy of Syrmaticus humiae （Hume’s pheasant）in winter，46 grains in 20 piles of fecal matter from S. humiae and 92 plant species from 38 families was collected from Dazhongshan during December 2007. By using a micro-fecal analysis，the diet composition of S. humiae was found. Results showed that the diet composition of S. humiae in winter contained 18 plant species from 12 families that could be divided into 3 groups according to relative density of amount food. The first group was the main foods，about eaten 31.5% in total，which consisted of Athyrium guangnanense and Pseudocystopteris spinulosa. In the second group were 14 plants，eaten 52.7%，that were common in its diet including Ardisia crenata，Acrophorus stipellatus，Castanopsis delavayi，Daphniphyllum oldhamii，Eurya ciliata，Gomphostemma microdon，Hemiphragma heterophyllum，Lithocarpus xylocarpus，Maesa argentea，Millettia longipedunculata，Quercus franchetii，Smilax china，Ternstroemia gymnanthera，and Vaccinium bracteatum. The third group had two species that were occasionally eaten 1.2%，namely Eurya nitida and Lindera nacusua. Overall，the main factors affecting diet composition were species composition and vertical structure of vegetation. For feeding strategies of S. humiae，selecting high quality food was the most important strategy，and followed by eating suitable plants from foraging patches. ［Ch，1 tab. 19 ref.］