Edwards's from

Critically endangered and possibly extinct in the wild

Edwards's Pheasant was only found in the lowland forests of central Vietnam. It was always extremely rare but loss of its forest habitat, poaching and defoliation during the Vietnam war has resulted in no sightings of wild since the year 2000. For this reason, it now seems likely that the species is extinct in the wild. Many field surveys and camera traps have been deployed throughout its home range in recent years without success. To date, no researcher has ever seen or studied this species in the wild.

History The species was originally only known from four skins of three males and one female sent by a missionary to the Paris Museum in 1895. The was named after a well-known French ornithologist at that time, Alphonse Milne-Edwards. In 1923, Jean Delacour, probably the greatest expert on pheasant species the world has ever known, went to Vietnam and was able to capture 22 Edwards's and 15 survived the long journey back to France on a ship. Only three of these were females, but Delacour managed to breed the species successfully and now there may be as many as a thousand in captivity throughout the world. In 1994, the species had not been seen in Vietnam for many years, so WPA sent four pairs to Hanoi Zoo from the UK. Two year later, a wild male was discovered in a snare and taken to Hanoi Zoo, where it was able to breed successfully with one of the UK females. A small population of these birds continues to live in Hanoi Zoo and four additional birds were sent in 2015 from EAZA (the European Zoos Association) and WPA to provide additional bloodlines within Vietnam.

DNA research Jean Delacour also brought back one pair of Imperial Pheasants from Vietnam with his Edwards's Pheasants in 1923. These birds were also extremely rare in Vietnam and the captive population was only kept going by selective crossing with female silver pheasants. In the 1970s another pheasant species was discovered in central Vietnam by Prof Vo Quy which looked similar to Edwards's but had white tail feathers. Some of these birds were taken to Hanoi Zoo in the 1990s where a breeding programme allowed some of them to be sent to Europe. These birds were given the name (Lophura hatinhensis). In 2012, DNA research by a team led by Alain Hennache (WPA France Chairman) discovered that the was actually a naturally occurring between an Edwards's Pheasant and a . The Vietnamese Pheasant was found to be a genetic variation of Edwards's Pheasant, possibly evolving from inbreeding . So both these birds have been officially removed from the list of pheasant species. Since that time, WPA has conducted detailed DNA investigations into the majority of the captive population of Edwards's Pheasants throughout the world. Greater genetic diversity has been found than might have been expected from a species that has been in captivity for almost 100 years. The DNA results are now being used to create pairs with the greatest genetic variation and it is planned to send some of the birds from these new pairings to Vietnam to start a reintroduction programme.

Reintroduction in Vietnam VietNature is a national conservation organisation in Vietnam which evolved from many years' involvement with Birdlife International. It has carried out numerous field surveys for the Edwards's Pheasant, including the use of hundreds of camera traps. Many other extremely rare species have been recorded in its research, but there has been no sign of any Edwards's Pheasant since 2000. Unfortunately, the calls of this species are very quiet and little known, so it seems unlikely that it might be found from its calling behaviour. VietNature is working closely with WPA and EAZA on a long-term Action Plan to return Edwards's Pheasant to the wild. A large area of good lowland rainforest (768 hectares) has been leased for the next 30 years in Khe Nuoc Trong Nature Reserve, a former site for the species. In addition, the first breeding station site has been identified in Le Thuy District of Quang Binh Province and aviary plans have been proposed by WPA and EAZA. WPA has agreed to donate £20,000 to help provide these first aviaries. Since Bird Flu is rife in Vietnam, there will need to be several such breeding stations with high levels of bio-security. Breeding pheasants for reintroduction is very different to just breeding them in an aviary, and WPA has experience with this which it is sharing with VietNature. It is agreed by all those with experience that only parent-reared pheasants stand a realistic chance of survival when released. Moreover, after nearly a hundred years in captivity, it is believed that it may take several generations of parent-rearing before birds are available which are suitable for release. 2017 marks the Year of the Chicken (or pheasant) in Vietnam; it is planned to have Edwards's Pheasant back in the wild by the next Year of the Pheasant - 2029.

Lowland forest in Khe Nuoc Trong Nature Reserve - formerly home to Edwards's Pheasant (photo Le Trong Trai)

If you are able to offer any funding to support the reintroduction of Edwards’s Pheasant in Vietnam, WPA guarantees to ensure that every penny will be sent to Vietnam for this project

The World Pheasant Association, Middle, Ninebanks, Hexham, NE47 8DL Phone: 01434 345526 Email: [email protected] www.pheasant.org.uk