Cheer Pheasant

Cheer pheasant in GHNP

The cheer pheasant is distributed in the highlands and scrublands of the Himalaya, in India, Nepal, Kashmir and Pakistan, mainly above 1,800m, and up to 3,000m during the summer.

Both the male and female are brown with long, pointed tails, red faces and small crests. It lives in small groups within GHNP, on steep, grassy slopes with scattered trees.

Cheer pheasants are found in very small numbers and are difficult to observe, but can often be heard calling at dusk. They have been sighted near Gati Pat in Jiwanal Valley, and on the park boundary close to the villages in Tirthan Valley.