NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Caucasian Snowcock
Tetraogallus caucasicus (Pallas, 1811)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Photo of Caucasian Snowcock uploaded from iNaturalist.
(c) Сергей Грабчак, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Caucasian snowcock (Tetraogallus caucasicus) is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds.
It is native to the Caucasus Mountains, particularly the Western Caucasus, where it breeds at altitudes from 2000 to 4000 m on bare stony mountains. It nests in a bare ground scrape and lays typically 5-6 greenish eggs, which are incubated only by the female. Its food is seeds and vegetable matter. It forms small flocks when not breeding.
Wikipedia contributors, Caucasian snowcock; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:05:39.867037+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Tetraogallus caucasicus (Pallas, 1811)
- Name authority
- (Pallas, 1811)
- Common name
- Caucasian Snowcock
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Tetraogallus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderGalliformes
- familyPhasianidae
- genusTetraogallus J. E. Gray, 1832
- speciesTetraogallus caucasicus (Pallas, 1811)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Tetraogallus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Altai SnowcockTetraogallus altaicus (Gebler, 1836) | PhasianidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Caspian SnowcockTetraogallus caspius (S. G. Gmelin, 1784) | PhasianidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Himalayan SnowcockTetraogallus himalayensis G. R. Gray, 1843 | PhasianidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tibetan SnowcockTetraogallus tibetanus Gould, 1854 | PhasianidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Tetrao caucasica Pallas, 1811 Pallas, 1811 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=553829 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:55QX2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.