The flying dragon bird, scientific name flower-tailed hazel (zhēn) chicken, is a genus of hazel chickens in the family Grouse. Widely distributed in northern Eurasia, it is the most widely distributed and common species of birds in the grouse family. It is distributed in Changbai Mountains, Xinjiang Altai Mountains, and the large and small Xing'anling mountains in northeast China, and is a national second-class protected animal. Its feathers can be used as handicrafts and have high ecological and economic value.
The flower-tailed hazel chicken living in northeast China is called "Feiyelengu" in Manchu, which means "chicken in the tree", and later took its consonant and was called "flying dragon". Because of their aromatic and delicious meat, they have become the main hunting birds in the northeast region, known as "heavenly dragon meat", one of the eight treasures. From the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty onwards, it was also listed as a tribute bird and paid tribute to the royal family and nobles.
It is like a pigeon, slightly larger than a pigeon, with a body length of nearly 40 cm. The head is small and the thoracic convexity is flat. The legs are short with feathers, the claws are slender, the claws are scaled, and the five toes are divided. The male has a short crown of feathers on the head , the upper body is mostly brownish gray with chestnut brown transverse spots ; the chin and throat are black ; the underparts are dark brown and white ; and the lateral tail feathers are flower-like , with a broad black-brown secondary spot. Females are similar to males , but have brownish yellower upperparts and brownish-white chins and throats.
Mostly in small groups, they are typical forest birds, mostly inhabiting the coniferous forests with lush vegetation and abundant berries under the forest, often hidden in trees. The wings are short and round, not good at flying, but good at running. The call is high and high,000, with the same pitch, especially during the breeding season. It feeds mainly on the young shoots, shoots, fruits and seeds of plants. It is very insidious during the breeding season, with very little activity, mating in estrus from April to May, laying 6-10 eggs per clutch.