Species Spotlight: Cabot's Tragopan
Alex Levitskiy
This week’s featured species is the Cabot’s Tragopan (Tragopan caboti), native to southeast China. I had the opportunity to visit a collection that houses this rare forest bird two weeks ago. The males of this species have orange orbital skin that is encompassed by mostly black feathers. They have an orange-red crest and sides to finish off their stunning head. The lappet is orange with blue and red sections of skin. Their horns are also orange. These are seen during frontal displays. The breast region and underparts of the male Cabot’s Tragopan is a plain buff color. The upper body is reddish brown, heavily spotted with buff. The hens are rufous brown, and they have underparts which are greyer and contrasted with white triangular patches. This tragopan is very distinctive from the other species, but care should still be taken to make sure it's not mixed with other tragopan hens because this would lead to hybridization.
The Cabot’s Tragopan is listed as Vulnerable in the wild. This is because it has a small population that is also severely fragmented due to habitat loss and modification. Fortunately, the regions that are protected have stable populations. Another issue still prevalent is the illegal hunting of this species, even though Cabot’s Tragopans are legally protected in China. While Cabot’s Tragopans are in great danger in the wild, some are found and bred in captivity. They are an uncommon bird in the avicultural world; however, they are still being bred in order to preserve them in captivity. I do not recommend for a beginner aviculturist to purchase and attempt raising Cabot’s Tragopans. They prove to be challenging to breed, so I suggest for beginners to begin with the Temminck’s Tragopan, the most common Tragopan kept in captivity. The struggles of the Cabot’s Tragopan correlate with that of dedicated aviculturists as they work with a limited gene pool, poor fertility in males, and more in order to keep this species around for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.
The following pictures were taken by Alex Levitskiy, but the birds are owned by Larry Rutan.
Cabot’s Tragopan Male
Cabot’s Tragopan Male
Cabot’s Tragopan Male Portrait
