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Male & Female Palawan Peacock-Pheasants (Polyplectron napoleonis) Photo by René Lausberg
Just in time for the holidays, here is a colorful fancy fowl to enjoy! The Palawan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron napoleonis) lives in the humid rainforests of the Palawan islands, a small chain of islands which are part of the Philippines and which are located in the Sulu Sea (to the southwest of Manila and just north of Malaysia). If you count their splendid tails, male Palawan peacock-pheasants grow to be a half a meter (18 inches) long. Females are much smaller and plainer. The pheasants voraciously hunt the many invertebrates which live in the jungle and they live on a varied diet of insects, myriapods, mollusks, spiders, and isopods as well as smaller vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and baby snakes. They also eat some berries and seeds.
Male Palawan Peacock-Pheasants (Polyplectron napoleonis)
In a world of beautiful birds, the male Palawan peacock-pheasant stands out because of his black plumage, his svelte eye mask, his erectile crest, and above all because of the large iridescent green-blue ocelli on his magnificent tail (which he can fan above himself in the manner of a peacock). From an earlier post, you will recall that ocelli are ornamental “eyes” made of feathers. The birds are monogamous—which is to say they form tightly bonded pairs which look after the nest together.
Male Palawan Peacock-Pheasants (Polyplectron napoleonis)
Sadly, peacock-pheasants are tropical birds which do not take well to aviaries and bird farms. The species is listed as “vulnerable” because of the swift deforestation of the Philippine jungles and because of overcollecting of the magnificent feathers, however the Palawan peacock-pheasant does not seem to be very likely to go extinct soon—which is splendid news for bird-lovers and aesthetes!
Male Palawan Peacock-Pheasants (Polyplectron napoleonis)
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