Abstract: Blue-eared pheasant (Crossoptilon auritum) is endemic to China, and only distributed in east and northeast Qinghai, northwest and south Gansu, northwest Sichuan, and west Ningxia. In 2007 and 2008, an investigation was made on the nest site selection of C. auritum in a forest area in south Gansu, China. Of the 12 nests found, four (33.3%) were under conifer trees, four (33.3%) on rock and in cavity, two (16.7%) under fallen trees, and two (16.7%) in thick shrub. The U and T tests showed that there were significant differences in the slope position, slope gradient, shrub height, shrub number, shrub cover, vegetation cover at 0.5 m, 1.0 m and 2.0 m height, and disturbance level between nest sites (n=12) and control sites (n=24). A stepwise discriminate analysis on the 13 variables that potentially affected the nest site selection of C. auritum indicated that the high position of slope, great cover of understory vegetation, and farther distance from human settlements had the priority for the nest site selection of C. auritum.

Key words: Oak forest, Mycorrhizal fungi, Ecological distribution