This bird is shy!

Caspian snowcock with the scientific name, Tetraogallus caspius is a kind of snowcock that appeared throughout the Alborz Mountains of northern Iran and in the mountains of eastern Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

Caspian snowcock with the scientific name, Tetraogallus caspius is a kind of snowcock that appeared throughout the Alborz Mountains of northern Iran and in the mountains of eastern Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It breeds at altitudes from 1,800–3,000 meters on bare stony ground with some alpine scrub. It’s diet consists of seeds and vegetable matter. It forms small flocks when not breeding.

This species ranges from 56 to 63 centimeters in length, 95 to 105 centimeters in wingspan, and 1.8 to 2.9 kilogram in weight. Its plumage is patterned with grey, brown, white, and black, but this snowcock looks pale gray from any distance. The breast is pale gray, the throat and a white patch on the side of the neck are white, and the nape is dark gray.

The Caspian snowcock has a desolate whistling song, vaguely like a Eurasian curlew, sooo-looo-leeee. Getting closer to it seems not very easy as it’s a very modest bird and whenever it feels dangerous, it flies to the top of the mountains and has a sound like a chook chook chook.

Although this Species is in the category of “Least concern” of being extinct based on the red list of IUCN, in recent years its population has decreased a lot, so it’s supported among the birds, and it should be banned hunting.