Mountain Peacock-pheasant
A species of Peacock-pheasants, Also known as Mirror Pheasant Scientific name : Polyplectron inopinatum Genus : Peacock-pheasants
Mountain Peacock-pheasant, A species of Peacock-pheasants
Also known as:
Mirror Pheasant
Botanical name: Polyplectron inopinatum
Genus: Peacock-pheasants
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok
Description
The mountain peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron inopinatum) also known as Rothschild's peacock-pheasant or mirror pheasant is a medium-sized, up to 65 cm long, blackish brown pheasant with small ocelli and long graduated tail feathers. Both sexes are similar. The male has metallic blue ocelli on upperparts, green ocelli on tail of twenty feathers and two spurs on legs. Female has black ocelli on upperparts, unspurred legs and tail of eighteen feathers. The female is smaller and duller than male. A shy and elusive bird, the mountain peacock-pheasant is distributed and endemic to montane forests of the central Malay Peninsula. The diet consists mainly of berries, beetles and ants. Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b and D-loop as well as the nuclear ovomucoid intron G data confirms that this species belongs to a clade together with the bronze-tailed peacock-pheasant, Germain's peacock-pheasant and grey peacock-pheasant (Kimball et al. 2001). The molecular data suggests - though not with high confidence - that this species diverged from mainland stock earlier than the bronze-tailed peacock-pheasant. This is quite spurious, since its biogeography and derived plumage, and the fact that it is a peninsular mountain endemic indicate it is derived from a fairly small founder population; this would confound molecular analyses. What seems clear is that the present species evolved from mainland Southeast Asian stock, probably during the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene (3.6-1 myr). The unique pattern of wings and tail thus is, contrary to long-held opinion, an autapomorphy, and the southern species of this clade - formerly separated in the genus Chalcurus - are probably not each other's closest relatives. Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size and limited range, the mountain peacock-pheasant is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix III of CITES in Malaysia.
Size
65 cm
Nest Placement
Ground
Feeding Habits
Mountain Peacock-pheasant primarily feed on a variety of invertebrates such as spiders, white ants, grubs, and beetles, complemented by rattan fruits. This bird forages for food, likely using a ground-searching technique to locate prey.
Habitat
The habitat of mountain Peacock-pheasant primarily encompasses unlogged upper dipterocarp forests as well as lower and upper montane forests. These environments are characterized by their dense, rich biodiversity, often with a considerable presence of dipterocarpaceae trees, providing both food resources and shelter for the species.
Dite type
Omnivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Photo By Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Family
Phasianidae Genus
Peacock-pheasants Species
Mountain Peacock-pheasant