Ochotona roylei
Royle's pika

Ochotona roylei is distributed mainly in Nepal, Punjab, and Kashmir; Tibet; Szechuan and Yunnan provinces in western China; northern Burma.

Ochotona roylei prefers rocky areas and often nests in stone heaps. They can only survive in areas where there are ample subterranean cavities formed by the accumulation of loose slide rock. Occasionally, where forests grow on rocky areas, pikas use the subterranean spaces around root systems and below fallen trees. They generally live at lower elevations than the large-eared pika and occur in more mesic situations such as rhododendron, deodar and spruce forsts. They may also occasionally inhabit the rock wall huts of local people throughout their range.

Length from nose to rump is 150-200 mm. The fur is long, dense, soft and fine, and generally more rufous-colored along the head, shoulders, and fore part of the body in the summer. The remainder of the dorsal surface is dark grayish rufous. Ventrally, the coloration ranges from white to grayish-white to dark gray. The winter coat is similar but may show only traces of rufous coloration.

The warning call of pikas is a sharp bark or whistle with the body jerking forward and upward with each call, although Royle's pika is less vocal than other species. They generally dig tunnels under the snow in areas where show is at least 20 cm deep. Unlike other pikas, Royle's pika does not usually cure hay to store for consumption during difficult winter months. Hay-curing occurs when pikas gather grasses, sedges, weeds, and many woody plants in the late summer and lay them out on rocks to be dried in the sun. These piles are then stored at the entrances to pika burrows. Royle's pikas do not hibernate and are active mainly during morning and evening hours. They often sun themselves on rocks matching their coat color. These animals live in family groups composted of an adult male and a female and their offspring. As with many lagomorphs,Royle's pikas eat the feces they produce at night in order to maximize the nutrients they obtain from their food.

Royle's pikas eat a variety of grasses, sedges, weeds and woody plants fresh and sometimes in the form of hay which they make themselves (see behavior below). They also eat lichens and mosses, utilizing whatever plants they can find near their burrows.

Royle's pika occasionally inhabits the huts of native peoples and may become a pest by stealing grains or baked goods.

There are currently no threats to the distribution or abundance of Royle's pika throughout its range. Because the geographic area of this species is often so far removed from humans, these animals rarely come into contact with human economic activities.

Some taxonomists include the large-eared pika, Ochotona macrotis, in Royle's pika, O. roylei, although they are generally regarded as separate species. Ochotona himalayana has also been considered a synonym for O. roylei.