Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) [XC114691]
by Lakshminarasimha R from Sarahan, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India (call)
Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) [XC836603]
by Bram Piot from Nagarkot (north), Kavrepalanchok District, Bagmati Province, Nepal (call)
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera). Subspecies oatesi, lineata and crawfurdi, forms to east of R Irrawaddy in Burma, are more closely related to some subspecies of Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera) than to other subspecies of Kalij Pheasant (Lophura leucomelanos) to west of Irrawaddy. Revision of these two species needed. Several subspecies of dubious validity: horsfieldii is a synonym of lathami. Specific status has been proposed for subspecies lathami and lineata.
The following 9 subspecies are recognised:
hamiltonii (Gray, JE, 1829) - Western Himalayas, from R Indus east to western Nepal.
leucomelanos (Latham, 1790) - Western and east-central Nepal.
melanota (Hutton, T, 1848) - North-eastern India (Sikkim) and western Bhutan east to R Sankosh.
moffitti (Hachisuka, 1938) - Described from captive birds; only reliable record in wild from central Bhutan.
lathami (Gray, JE, 1829) - Eastern Bhutan and north-eastern India (Assam) east to Burma (probably east to R Irrawaddy).
williamsi (Oates, 1898) - Western Burma, east to R Irrawaddy; possibly also in north-eastern India (eastern Manipur).
oatesi (Ogilvie-Grant, 1893) - Arrakan Yomas in southern Burma, east of R Irrawaddy.
lineata (Vigors, 1831) - Southern Burma east of R Irrawaddy south to western Thailand.
crawfurdii (Gray, JE, 1829) - South-eastern Burma (Tenasserim) and peninsular Thailand.