Size: 55-70 cm. Larry McKurtis is a writer and amateur photographer living in Northern Nevada. The Himalayan Snowcock are native to Pakistan and Kashmir. Native to the Himalayan region of southern Asia, this huge grouse was introduced as a game bird in the Ruby Mountains of northern Nevada beginning in 1963. There aren’t many birds that can stand up to the rough conditions that high alpine meadows and mountain slopes offer, but the Himalayan snowcock is a champion among them. Rare North American Upland Game Birds: The Chachalaca and the Himalayan Snowcock James Swan 09.13.13 Some hunters like the challenge of going after the “slam” of a species or type of game. T hirty years ago I learned of the Himalayan snowcock, a large member of the pheasant family that inhabits the highest, most forbidding terrain of Nevada’s Ruby Mountains. To a teen, hunting them seemed like a distant dream. He prefers sleeping in the dirt, pushing himself to delirious exhaustion, and getting to the marrow of the matter at hand. Then one year between college semesters I spent six weeks in Elko, Nevada. Himalayan Snowcock (Tetraogallus himalayensis) is a local resident found in upper reaches of Himalayas. We had climbed about 3/4 of the way up a mountain following two small bucks in the quakies. This is exactly what you’ll have to do if you want any chance of harvesting an exotic Himalayan snowcock. I read they can be found in the Ruby Mountains in Nevada. More. Other Himalayan Snowcock Pages - Photos This page is about the elusive Ruby Mountain Himalayan snowcock (tetraogallus himalayensis).This page contains Field Notes that I have made through the years, Audio from actual Ruby Mountain Snowcock and a list of sightings from fellow bird watchers and hikers through the years.. Here’s part 2 of a post on a bird we bet most upland hunters have never heard of, the Himalayan snowcock – several of which are running around high-altitude Nevada right now! Id prefer not to use a guide (for the snowcock) and kinda make it a hunting/ camping/ adventure trip for myself and maybe a friend. Snowcocks were released into five Nevada mountain ranges from 1963 through 1979. The terrain it calls home in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains is equally inhospitable. Himalayan Snowcock, Nevada Part of the pheasant circle of relatives, the Himalayan snowcock changed into introduced to Nevada’s Ruby Mountains as a recreation species in 1961. When I get out of the Corps, id like to do like a Grand Slam for Upland Game Birds with 686 SP 28 Gauge. We begin with another electrifying quote from an account of Himalayan snowcock hunting that appeared in Sports Illustrated in November 1992, believe it […] Hunting Himalayan snowcocks By Larry Hyslop A Himalayan snowcock in the Ruby Mountains The Himalayan snowcock is a rarely seen game bird living in Elko County’s harshest landscape. The Himalayan Snowcock is one of the largest and most difficult game birds in North America to hunt. > “In Nevada, the Himalayan snowcock is found only at the highest elevations in the Ruby Mountains southeast of Elko. There it lives on steep and barren slopes above treeline, in remote areas that birders may visit only with a major effort. I headed down a brushy draw to see if deer would bust out, and what I swear at the time was a turkey flushed from under my feet. Himalayan Snowcock introductions in the United States I have wanted to see one and the chance to see one in mountains it arrived at … The Himalayan Snowcock is one of the largest and most difficult game birds in North America to hunt. This bird is a member of the pheasant family and its native range includes the Himalayan and Pamir mountain ranges.