Ruby Mountains Himalayan Snowcock Nevada
ruby mountains himalayan snowcock nevadaDistribution of himalayan snowcock in north america. They are quite large for game birds weighing between 4 and 7 pounds and measuring about 22 to 29 inches in length nevada department of wildlife 2018.
Day 3 fri the search for himalayan snowcock it will be a very early morning waking by 3 00 and departing by 3 30 am we ll drive 45 minutes to the trailhead in the dark.
Ruby mountains himalayan snowcock nevada. In the himalayas it is found between 4000 and 5000 m elevation in summer descending to 2400 m during severe winters. The range reaches a maximum elevation of 11 387 feet 3 471 m on the summit of ruby dome. The ruby mountains are a mountain range primarily located within elko county with a small extension into white pine county in nevada united states.
Residing above 10 000 feet in the ruby mountains of nevada these birds seek comfort in the roughest and steepest snow covered peaks. Most of the range is included within the humboldt toiyabe national forest. This species is native to asia but has been successfully introduced into nevada.
The himalayan snowcock is an unusual and pretty bird. Today there is a wild population of himalayan snowcock that can be hunted in the ruby mountain range of nevada. The ragged realities of himalayan snowcock story and photographs by garhart stephenson t hirty years ago i learned of the himalayan snowcock a large member of the pheasant family that inhabits the highest most forbidding terrain of nevada s ruby mountains.
The trek to the valley where we ll find himalayan snowcock takes about 90 120 minutes at a slow to moderate pace. Some himalayan snowcock from pakistan where introduced into the ruby mountains between 1963 and 1979 from numerous releases. These birds thrive in the highest mountain peaks typically at altitudes over eleven thousand feet.
To a teen hunting them seemed like a distant dream. The himalayan snowcock are native to pakistan and kashmir. According to the national geographic society snowcock are 28 inches from the tip of the beak to the tip on the tail feathers.
Snowcock hunting began in 1980 with hunters being allowed only one bird in a 30 day hunting season. By 1987 only 32 birds 4 birds a year were reported as being harvested. See text for details.
Their feathers are generally gray white and tan. Himalayan snowcock frequents alpine pastures and steep ridges of mountains of central and south asia above the treeline and near the snowline.