The snowcocks are a group of bird species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 in the genus Tetraogallus of the pheasant family, Phasianidae

Phasianidae

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...

. They are ground-nesting birds which breed in the mountain ranges of southern Eurasia

Eurasia

Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...

 from the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

 to the Himalayas

Himalayas

The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

 and western China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The Himalayan Snowcock has been introduced successfully into the Ruby Mountains

Ruby Mountains

The Ruby Mountains comprise one of the many mountain ranges of the Great Basin in the western United States. They are the predominant range in Elko County, in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada. To the north is Secret Pass and the East Humboldt Range, and from there the Rubies run...

 of Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, USA. Snowcocks feed on plants and plant seeds.

Species

• Caucasian Snowcock
  Caucasian Snowcock
  The Caucasian Snowcock, Tetraogallus caucasicus , is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds....
  
  , Tetraogallus caucasicus
• Caspian Snowcock
  Caspian Snowcock
  The Caspian Snowcock, Tetraogallus caspius, is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds....
  
  , Tetraogallus caspius
• Tibetan Snowcock
  Tibetan Snowcock
  The Tibetan Snowcock is a bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. This species is found in high-altitude regions of the Western Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, where it overlaps in part with the larger Himalayan Snowcock...
  
  , Tetraogallus tibetanus
• Altai Snowcock
  Altai Snowcock
  The Altai Snowcock is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family.It is found in China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia.Its natural habitat is boreal forests.-References:...
  
  , Tetraogallus altaicus
• Himalayan Snowcock
  Himalayan Snowcock
  The Himalayan Snowcock is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae found across the Himalayan ranges and parts of the adjoining Pamir range of Asia. It is found on alpine pastures and on steep rocky cliffs where they will dive down the hill slopes to escape. It overlaps with the slightly...
  
  , Tetraogallus himalayensis