Among the most threatened are the Himalayan Quail, the Oscillated Turkey and Edward's Pheasant, which was thought to already be extinct before a few were spotted in 1996. The red jungle fowl, the ancestor of the common yard chicken is widely distributed in Asia, but new evidence suggests that the wild stock is being hybridized by domestic chickens. Scientists worry because wild genes often hold the key to disease resistance among domestic flocks. Scientists formed the Partridge, Quail and Francolin Specialist Group in 1991 to address the problems. Since then they have conducted population and The Golden Pheasant, the national bird of China, has blue wings, a red breast and an iridescent golden head.
Practical solutions are urgent.
Several of the Galliforme species are already extinct. Others hang on in small pockets of habitat and face an uncertain future. For example, the Orange-Necked Hill Partridge was first described in 1927 but wasn't seen again by scientists until 1991. Carroll said recent surveys show they aren't all gone, but there may be only 200 individuals left in their native Vietnam. These survive in a small park.