Palawan Peacock-Pheasant

Palawan Peacock-Pheasant
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Subfamily:	Phasianinae
Genus:	Polyplectron
Species:	P. napoleonis
Binomial name
Polyplectron napoleonis Lesson, 1831
Synonyms
Polyplectrum napoleonis Lesson, 1831 (lapsus) Polyplectron emphanum Temminck, 1832[1]

The Palawan Peacock-Pheasant, Polyplectron napoleonis, is a medium-sized (up to 50 cm long) bird in the family Phasianidae. It was long known as Polyplectron emphanum (Dickinson 2001).

Description

The male is the handsomest and most peacock-like member of the genus Polyplectron. It has an erectile crest, a white stripe over the eyes and highly iridescent metallic green and black plumage. The tail feathers are decorated with large blue-green ocelli, which may be spread fanlike in courtship displays. The female is smaller than the male. It has a dark brown plumage with a short crest and is whitish on the throat, cheeks and eyebrows.

Distribution and habitat

Endemic to the Philippines, the Palawan Peacock-Pheasant is found in the humid forests of Palawan Island in the southern part of the Philippine archipelago. The female usually lays up to two eggs.

Taxonomy

The Palawan Peacock-Pheasant, with its unique male plumage and distant range, represents a basal (Early? Pliocene, c.5-4 mya^[2]) offshoot of the genus Polyplectron (Kimball et al. 2001).

Status and conservation

Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size and limited range as well as hunting and capture for trade, the Palawan Peacock-Pheasant is classified as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.

Gallery

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  male

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  female

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  male

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Polyplectron napoleonis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 29 October 2006. The database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable.
• Dickinson, E. C. (2001): The correct scientific name of the Palawan Peacock-Pheasant is Polyplectron napoleonis (Lesson, 1831). Bull. B. O. C. 121(4): 266-272.
• Kimball, 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 behaviour. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 73(2): 187–198. HTML abstract
• Lesson, René-Primevère (1831): Traite d'Ornithologie 7:487; 8: 650.
• Temminck, Coenraad Jacob (1832): Nouveau Recueil de Planches coloriées d'Oiseaux 88 plate 540.

Footnotes

1. ^ See Dickinson (2001).
2. ^ Note that the molecular clock calibration method used by Kimball et al. (2001) is now known to be inappropriate, yielding far too low estimates in galliform birds.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the Palawan Peacock-Pheasant (Polyplectron napoleonis)
• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• Red Data Book