Free Teacher Resources
A male Temminck's tragopan with red, white-spotted feathers and a blue face.
Photo: Doug Janson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Temminck's Tragopan

Tragopan temminckii

A colorful Asian pheasant whose males puff out a bright blue-and-red throat flap and blue "horns" to court females.

🐓 Ground Birds
Checking teacher reviews…
Teacher? Sign in to review this page →Report a mistake

About the Temminck's Tragopan

Temminck's tragopans are about 2 feet long and weigh 3 to 5 pounds. Females are brown. Males are russet with gray and black spots and a black-and-pale-blue head. They live in high mountain forests of evergreens, bamboo and rhododendrons and eat seeds, flowers, leaves, mosses, ferns, berries and insects.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Tragopan temminckii[1]
Size
About 2 feet long.[1]
Weight
3 to 5 pounds.[1]
Diet
Seeds, flowers, leaves, mosses, ferns, berries and insects.[1]
Habitat
High-altitude evergreen, bamboo and rhododendron forests.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2024).[2]

Fun facts

  • Males puff out a bright blue-and-red throat flap when courting.[1]
  • Tragopans nest in trees, unlike most pheasants.[1]
  • Chicks can fly just a few days after they hatch.[1]

Vocabulary

pheasant
A ground bird related to chickens; males are often very colorful.
lappet
A flap of skin, like the colorful bib on a male tragopan's throat.
courtship display
A show of movements and colors to attract a mate.
russet
A reddish-brown color.
least concern
A conservation label meaning a species is widespread and not at risk of dying out soon.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Temminck's Tragopan.” https://www.sfzoo.org/temmincks-tragopan/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Tragopan temminckii (Temminck's Tragopan).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679169/264164899 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

More Ground Birds

A fluffy Cochin rooster with a red comb and feathered feet standing on grass.Cochin ChickenGallus gallus domesticusA big, fluffy, calm chicken breed with feathers all the way down its feet.A black male great curassow with a curly crest and a yellow knob on its bill walking on the forest floor.Great CurassowCrax rubraA vulnerable fruit-eating forest bird of Mexico, Central America and northwestern South America.A helmeted guineafowl with white-spotted gray feathers and a blue head walking on grass.Helmeted GuineafowlNumida meleagrisA spotted African ground bird with a bony helmet on its head that eats insects and ticks and would rather run than fly.A kori bustard with gray and brown feathers walking on sandy ground.Kori BustardArdeotis koriOne of the world's heaviest flying birds, a ground-walking hunter of African grasslands that puffs up its neck to show off.