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Malayan peacock-pheasant

The Malayan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron malacense)[3] also known as crested peacock-pheasant or Malaysian peacock-pheasant, is a medium-sized pheasant of the galliform family Phasianidae. The closely related Bornean peacock-pheasant (P. schleiermacheri) was formerly included here as a subspecies, but as understood today, P. malacense is monotypic.[4]

Malayan peacock-pheasant
Adult male displaying(Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens)
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Polyplectron
Species:
P. malacense
Binomial name
Polyplectron malacense
(Scopoli, 1786)
Synonyms

Pavo malacensis Scopoli, 1786
Polyplectron bicalcaratum (non Linnaeus, 1758: preoccupied)[verification needed]
Polyplectron malacense malacense (Scopoli, 1786)

Description edit

 
Head of adult male

It is one of the shortest-tailed peacock-pheasants. Adult males are about 50 cm long, about half of which is made up by the tail. Their tarsus measures approximately 6.5 cm, and their wings are 20–21 cm long; they weigh from over 600 to nearly 700 g.[5]

The female is slightly smaller than the male, with a noticeably shorter tail; measuring about 40 cm overall, its tail is slightly less than 20 cm long, while its tarsus measures c.6 cm and its wing length is 18 cm. Adult females weigh about 450-550 g.[6]

Plumage edit

Their plumage is generally pale brown with small black spots and bands all over, creating the "salt-and-pepper" effect found in most peacock-pheasants. It has iridescent blue-green eyespots with a buff border on its upperwings, back, and on the 22 rectrices, a white throat running down to the center of the breast, and a loose, pointed and upturned dark blue-green crest on its forehead. A bare facial skin surrounds the eyes with their bluish-white iris; usually pink, it becomes bright orange-red during courtship. The bill and legs are blackish.[7]

Female plumage is duller than in males, with a vestigial crest and eyespots only on remiges and rectrices. On the wing coverts and back, they have dark dots instead, which are pointed towards the feather tip.[8]

Young birds resemble females but have even less-developed eyespots and usually lack them entirely except on the rectrices. The downy hatchlings are pale chestnut-brown above and buff below.[9]

Systematics edit

mtDNA cytochrome b and D-loop as well as the nuclear ovomucoid intron G sequence data places the Malayan peacock-pheasant within the basal radiation of its genus, together with the even more elusive Bornean peacock-pheasant (P. schleiermacheri) – and Palawan peacock-pheasant (P. napoleonis). The common ancestor of the Malay peacock-pheasants probably diverged from its relatives during the Pliocene[10] or maybe Late Miocene, about 5 million years ago (Ma) perhaps.[11]

When the lineages of Borneo and Malaya diverged has not been studied; considering the phylogeny of Polyplectron, an Early Pleistocene[10] date, roughly around 1 Ma, seems reasonable. In that regard, it is probably significant that Borneo was connected to the Southeast Asian mainland during Pleistocene glacial periods with low sea levels. In any case, the phylogeny and biogeography of the basal peacock-pheasants agrees with the idea of reproductive isolation due to rising sea levels during the last ice age's interglacials, whereas the more advanced Polyplectron species are limited to today's mainland Southeast Asia.[11]

Ecology edit

A shy and elusive bird, the Malay peacock-pheasant is endemic to lowland forests of the Malay Peninsula from the Isthmus of Kra region southwards. At one time, this species was widespread in Malaysia and Thailand, and reported from southern Myanmar, Sumatra and Singapore, but it probably never occurred in the former two at least in historic times. It has since disappeared from most of its former range, with the remaining population being confined to the lowlands of central Malaysia, perhaps extending barely into Thailand. Although nothing certain is known, there is nothing to suggest that this species is anything other than a sedentary bird; individuals probably do not move a long distance from their place of hatching. They are somewhat territorial, but the ranges of several birds probably overlap except for the core areas. Males move about in an area of approximately 10–60 hectares, while the ranges of females are half that size. The average population density in suitable habitat is estimated as slightly less than seven adult birds per square kilometer.[9]

It inhabits mainly dipterocarp rainforest up to 150 m ASL, rarely occurring even as low as 300 m ASL. While it can utilize secondary forest, such habitat does not seem to be optimal. Its feeding habits are little-studied, but it probably eats a mix of plant matter (particularly fruits) and small arthropods as do its better-known relatives. It forages in typical galliform fashion, utilising its feet and bill to uncover invertebrates from forest litter. Recorded food items include insects such as Diptera, Orthoptera and Hymenoptera (e.g. carpenter ants), mollusks, isopods Camponotus,[12] and fruits and seeds of Annonaceae, Fabaceae and Fagaceae (e.g. stone oaks, Lithocarpus). Other items found in Malay peacock-pheasant stomachs were probably not ingested deliberately; they include moss, twigs, rootlets and part of an Apocynaceae flower.[9]

 
Adult male's mantle feathers with their eyespots and "salt-and-pepper" pattern

Reproduction edit

While captive Malay peacock-pheasants may sometimes appear to polygynous or promiscuous, not forming lasting pair bonds, this is probably atypical as peacock-pheasants are as a rule monogamous with males participating in nest defense and chick rearing. The mating season is not well resolved; recently used nests have been found in March, April and August. Breeding activity may in fact occur essentially all year round (as in many lowland rainforest birds), triggered by abundance of mast rather than by a fixed circannual rhythm. Males scrape the debris and leaf litter off their display sites in forest clearings, from where they maintain vocal contact with their mate and progeny. They adopt various highly stereotyped and ritualised postures and associated plumage displays, which reveal prominent ocelli on remiges and rectrices. These behaviors are likewise used in self-defense. When utilised in pair-bonding behavior copulation may occur subsequent to lateral displays. Anterior displays are also performed which may include curious clicking and vibrating pulsations of feather quills created via stridulation.[11]

Aviculturists report that the males' contribution to reproduction ends after copulation. This is not always the case in instances where pairs are maintained in mixed species enclosures and encouraged to nest naturally. The nest is somewhat vestigial, consisting of twigs and large leaves scraped together on low-lying firm ground, be it on a termite mound a short distance above the forest floor, or the forest floor itself. P. malacense is one of the few pheasants known with certainty to have a one-egg clutch. Incubation takes probably 22–23 days. The species is not infrequently bred in zoos.[9]

Status and conservation edit

Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size and limited range, the Malayan peacock-pheasant is evaluated as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its numbers have declined about two-thirds in the last decade or so, and that this trend is expected to last for another decade at least. It is listed on CITES Appendix II.[4]

Deforestation is the main threat for this species, and has rendered more than half of the places where it was found in the 1970s unsuitable for it. The available habitat has even declined by over three-quarters during that time, indicating that the population – estimated at about 8,000 adults as of 2008 – is close to the maximum possible, as less and less suitable forest is not inhabited by P. malacense. It used to be hunted for food or as a trophy, but compared to deforestation these threats are nearly insignificant nowadays.[4]

While a small amount of selective logging is tolerated by this bird, it depends on sufficient primary forest to persist. Most Malay peacock-pheasants today live in protected areas in Malaysia, namely Taman Negara National Park and Krau Wildlife Reserve in Pahang, and perhaps Sungkai Sambar Deer and Pheasant Wildlife Reserve in Perak and Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve in Selangor. There are also a few reports from less strictly-protected areas, such as Pasoh Forest Reserve in Negeri Sembilan. In areas where they receive protection and where suitable habitat is plentiful, the Malay peacock-pheasant can be fairly common, and thus become a flagship species for ecotourism and other forms of sustainable development. A zoo population exists, numbering 189 birds in 35 sites in 1993. Its studbook is maintained by the New York Zoological Society and Wildlife Conservation International. The Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Malaysia is preparing a captive breeding program to bolster the population in reserves and prevent inbreeding depression by release of captive-bred birds.[4]

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2022). "Polyplectron malacense". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T22679385A137837773. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Appendices". CITES. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ^ McGowan, Philip J. K.; Kirwan, Guy M. (2020). Del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi; Christie, David; De Juana, Eduardo (eds.). "Malayan Peacock-Pheasant (Polyplectron malacense)". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.mapphe1.01. S2CID 216448121. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d McGowan (1994), BLI (2008)
  5. ^ McGowan (1994, 1998), Kimball et al. (2001)
  6. ^ McGowan (1994, 1998)
  7. ^ McGowan (1994, 1998), Kimball et al. (2001)
  8. ^ McGowan (1994, 1998)
  9. ^ a b c d McGowan (1994)
  10. ^ a b The estimate of divergence times in Kimball et al. (2001) is probably too low, as they use an uncalibrated and outdated molecular clock that is not well-suited for large-bodied birds.
  11. ^ a b c McGowan (1994), Kimball et al. (2001)
  12. ^ Campanotus is a lapsus in McGowan (1994)

References edit

  • Kimball, Rebecca T.; Braun, Edward L.; Ligon, J. David; Lucchini, Vittorio; Randi, Ettore (2001). (PDF). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 73 (2): 187–198. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2001.tb01356.x. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2008.
  • McGowan, Philip J.K. (1994). "Malaysian Peacock-pheasant". In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi (eds.). Handbook of Birds of the World. Vol. 2: New World vultures to Guineafowl. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 548, plate 58. ISBN 84-87334-15-6.
  • McGowan, Philip J.K. (1998). (PDF). Forktail. 14 (78). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2008.

External links edit

  • ARKive -
  • BirdLife Species Factsheet
  • gbwf.org -

malayan, peacock, pheasant, polyplectron, malacense, also, known, crested, peacock, pheasant, malaysian, peacock, pheasant, medium, sized, pheasant, galliform, family, phasianidae, closely, related, bornean, peacock, pheasant, schleiermacheri, formerly, includ. The Malayan peacock pheasant Polyplectron malacense 3 also known as crested peacock pheasant or Malaysian peacock pheasant is a medium sized pheasant of the galliform family Phasianidae The closely related Bornean peacock pheasant P schleiermacheri was formerly included here as a subspecies but as understood today P malacense is monotypic 4 Malayan peacock pheasant Adult male displaying Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens Conservation status Endangered IUCN 3 1 1 CITES Appendix II CITES 2 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Galliformes Family Phasianidae Genus Polyplectron Species P malacense Binomial name Polyplectron malacense Scopoli 1786 Synonyms Pavo malacensis Scopoli 1786 Polyplectron bicalcaratum non Linnaeus 1758 preoccupied verification needed Polyplectron malacense malacense Scopoli 1786 Contents 1 Description 1 1 Plumage 2 Systematics 3 Ecology 3 1 Reproduction 3 2 Status and conservation 4 Footnotes 5 References 6 External linksDescription edit nbsp Head of adult male It is one of the shortest tailed peacock pheasants Adult males are about 50 cm long about half of which is made up by the tail Their tarsus measures approximately 6 5 cm and their wings are 20 21 cm long they weigh from over 600 to nearly 700 g 5 The female is slightly smaller than the male with a noticeably shorter tail measuring about 40 cm overall its tail is slightly less than 20 cm long while its tarsus measures c 6 cm and its wing length is 18 cm Adult females weigh about 450 550 g 6 Plumage edit Their plumage is generally pale brown with small black spots and bands all over creating the salt and pepper effect found in most peacock pheasants It has iridescent blue green eyespots with a buff border on its upperwings back and on the 22 rectrices a white throat running down to the center of the breast and a loose pointed and upturned dark blue green crest on its forehead A bare facial skin surrounds the eyes with their bluish white iris usually pink it becomes bright orange red during courtship The bill and legs are blackish 7 Female plumage is duller than in males with a vestigial crest and eyespots only on remiges and rectrices On the wing coverts and back they have dark dots instead which are pointed towards the feather tip 8 Young birds resemble females but have even less developed eyespots and usually lack them entirely except on the rectrices The downy hatchlings are pale chestnut brown above and buff below 9 Systematics editmtDNA cytochrome b and D loop as well as the nuclear ovomucoid intron G sequence data places the Malayan peacock pheasant within the basal radiation of its genus together with the even more elusive Bornean peacock pheasant P schleiermacheri and Palawan peacock pheasant P napoleonis The common ancestor of the Malay peacock pheasants probably diverged from its relatives during the Pliocene 10 or maybe Late Miocene about 5 million years ago Ma perhaps 11 When the lineages of Borneo and Malaya diverged has not been studied considering the phylogeny of Polyplectron an Early Pleistocene 10 date roughly around 1 Ma seems reasonable In that regard it is probably significant that Borneo was connected to the Southeast Asian mainland during Pleistocene glacial periods with low sea levels In any case the phylogeny and biogeography of the basal peacock pheasants agrees with the idea of reproductive isolation due to rising sea levels during the last ice age s interglacials whereas the more advanced Polyplectron species are limited to today s mainland Southeast Asia 11 Ecology editA shy and elusive bird the Malay peacock pheasant is endemic to lowland forests of the Malay Peninsula from the Isthmus of Kra region southwards At one time this species was widespread in Malaysia and Thailand and reported from southern Myanmar Sumatra and Singapore but it probably never occurred in the former two at least in historic times It has since disappeared from most of its former range with the remaining population being confined to the lowlands of central Malaysia perhaps extending barely into Thailand Although nothing certain is known there is nothing to suggest that this species is anything other than a sedentary bird individuals probably do not move a long distance from their place of hatching They are somewhat territorial but the ranges of several birds probably overlap except for the core areas Males move about in an area of approximately 10 60 hectares while the ranges of females are half that size The average population density in suitable habitat is estimated as slightly less than seven adult birds per square kilometer 9 It inhabits mainly dipterocarp rainforest up to 150 m ASL rarely occurring even as low as 300 m ASL While it can utilize secondary forest such habitat does not seem to be optimal Its feeding habits are little studied but it probably eats a mix of plant matter particularly fruits and small arthropods as do its better known relatives It forages in typical galliform fashion utilising its feet and bill to uncover invertebrates from forest litter Recorded food items include insects such as Diptera Orthoptera and Hymenoptera e g carpenter ants mollusks isopods Camponotus 12 and fruits and seeds of Annonaceae Fabaceae and Fagaceae e g stone oaks Lithocarpus Other items found in Malay peacock pheasant stomachs were probably not ingested deliberately they include moss twigs rootlets and part of an Apocynaceae flower 9 nbsp Adult male s mantle feathers with their eyespots and salt and pepper pattern Reproduction edit While captive Malay peacock pheasants may sometimes appear to polygynous or promiscuous not forming lasting pair bonds this is probably atypical as peacock pheasants are as a rule monogamous with males participating in nest defense and chick rearing The mating season is not well resolved recently used nests have been found in March April and August Breeding activity may in fact occur essentially all year round as in many lowland rainforest birds triggered by abundance of mast rather than by a fixed circannual rhythm Males scrape the debris and leaf litter off their display sites in forest clearings from where they maintain vocal contact with their mate and progeny They adopt various highly stereotyped and ritualised postures and associated plumage displays which reveal prominent ocelli on remiges and rectrices These behaviors are likewise used in self defense When utilised in pair bonding behavior copulation may occur subsequent to lateral displays Anterior displays are also performed which may include curious clicking and vibrating pulsations of feather quills created via stridulation 11 Aviculturists report that the males contribution to reproduction ends after copulation This is not always the case in instances where pairs are maintained in mixed species enclosures and encouraged to nest naturally The nest is somewhat vestigial consisting of twigs and large leaves scraped together on low lying firm ground be it on a termite mound a short distance above the forest floor or the forest floor itself P malacense is one of the few pheasants known with certainty to have a one egg clutch Incubation takes probably 22 23 days The species is not infrequently bred in zoos 9 Status and conservation edit Due to ongoing habitat loss small population size and limited range the Malayan peacock pheasant is evaluated as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Its numbers have declined about two thirds in the last decade or so and that this trend is expected to last for another decade at least It is listed on CITES Appendix II 4 Deforestation is the main threat for this species and has rendered more than half of the places where it was found in the 1970s unsuitable for it The available habitat has even declined by over three quarters during that time indicating that the population estimated at about 8 000 adults as of 2008 is close to the maximum possible as less and less suitable forest is not inhabited by P malacense It used to be hunted for food or as a trophy but compared to deforestation these threats are nearly insignificant nowadays 4 While a small amount of selective logging is tolerated by this bird it depends on sufficient primary forest to persist Most Malay peacock pheasants today live in protected areas in Malaysia namely Taman Negara National Park and Krau Wildlife Reserve in Pahang and perhaps Sungkai Sambar Deer and Pheasant Wildlife Reserve in Perak and Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve in Selangor There are also a few reports from less strictly protected areas such as Pasoh Forest Reserve in Negeri Sembilan In areas where they receive protection and where suitable habitat is plentiful the Malay peacock pheasant can be fairly common and thus become a flagship species for ecotourism and other forms of sustainable development A zoo population exists numbering 189 birds in 35 sites in 1993 Its studbook is maintained by the New York Zoological Society and Wildlife Conservation International The Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Malaysia is preparing a captive breeding program to bolster the population in reserves and prevent inbreeding depression by release of captive bred birds 4 Footnotes edit BirdLife International 2022 Polyplectron malacense IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022 e T22679385A137837773 Retrieved 26 July 2022 Appendices CITES Retrieved 14 January 2022 McGowan Philip J K Kirwan Guy M 2020 Del Hoyo Josep Elliott Andrew Sargatal Jordi Christie David De Juana Eduardo eds Malayan Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron malacense Birds of the World doi 10 2173 bow mapphe1 01 S2CID 216448121 Retrieved 4 February 2023 a b c d McGowan 1994 BLI 2008 McGowan 1994 1998 Kimball et al 2001 McGowan 1994 1998 McGowan 1994 1998 Kimball et al 2001 McGowan 1994 1998 a b c d McGowan 1994 a b The estimate of divergence times in Kimball et al 2001 is probably too low as they use an uncalibrated and outdated molecular clock that is not well suited for large bodied birds a b c McGowan 1994 Kimball et al 2001 Campanotus is a lapsus in McGowan 1994 References editKimball Rebecca T Braun Edward L Ligon J David Lucchini Vittorio Randi Ettore 2001 A molecular phylogeny of the peacock pheasants Galliformes Polyplectron spp indicates loss and reduction of ornamental traits and display behaviours PDF Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 73 2 187 198 doi 10 1111 j 1095 8312 2001 tb01356 x Archived from the original PDF on 15 May 2008 McGowan Philip J K 1994 Malaysian Peacock pheasant In del Hoyo Josep Elliott Andrew Sargatal Jordi eds Handbook of Birds of the World Vol 2 New World vultures to Guineafowl Barcelona Spain Lynx Edicions pp 548 plate 58 ISBN 84 87334 15 6 McGowan Philip J K 1998 Weights of some birds from the Malaysian forest floor PDF Forktail 14 78 Archived from the original PDF on 28 August 2008 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Polyplectron malacense ARKive images and movies of the Malayan Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron malacense BirdLife Species Factsheet gbwf org Malay Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron malacense Red Data Book Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Malayan peacock pheasant amp oldid 1207421609, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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