Comparison of roosting habitat characteristics of two sympatric pheasants during springtime at Dazhong Mountain, southwestern China

Hume's Pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae) and the Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera) are two sympatric bird species at Dazhong Mountain of Yunnan Province, southwestern China. We investigated characteristics of roosting habitats of the two pheasants from February to April, 2004 in this area. Multiple statistics, Matryoshka and a habitat classification-tree were used to analyze the selection of roosting habitats of these pheasants. The results of the habitat classification-tree indicated that several separations occurred in their macro and micro roosting habitats in the study area. The two pheasants had similar crucial requirements for and selection of ecological roosting factors, which allow them to live in the same macrohabitat. Competition between these two pheasants was avoided by separation of spatial elements, such as roosting trees and topographic characteristics. For safety strategy, Hume's Pheasant adopted primarily a way of "uneasily found habitat cover plus easy escape", while the Silver Pheasant employed a unique way of "uneasily found habitat cover". For tactics of keeping warm, Hume's Pheasant selected mainly a method of "suitable vegetation supplemented with suitable topography", while the Silver Pheasant chose a unique manner of "suitable vegetation".