Polyplectron inopinatum
The Mountain Peacock-Pheasant (*Polyplectron inopinatum*) is a strikingly beautiful and highly enigmatic gamebird endemic to the montane rainforests of the Malay Peninsula. Males measure 50-65 cm in length, including a 20-25 cm tail, and weigh around 700g, while females are smaller at 40-50 cm (tail 15-18 cm) and 500g. Its dark brown plumage is finely speckled with white, but its most distinctive feature is the series of brilliant, iridescent metallic blue-green ocelli (eye-spots) adorning it...
Found exclusively in primary submontane and montane rainforests, typically at elevations between 800 and 1500 meters, occasionally ranging up to 1800 meters.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on ants, termites, grubs, and other invertebrates, supplemented by fallen fruits and seeds, all foraged by scratching through the forest floor litter.
This exceptionally shy and secretive bird is primarily diurnal, though it may be most active during the crepuscular hours of dawn and dusk. It forages solitarily or in pairs on the forest floor, meticulously scratching through leaf litter for food. Mountain Peacock-Pheasants are believed to be mo...
The Mountain Peacock-Pheasant is strictly endemic to the central highlands of the Malay Peninsula, primarily within Malaysia. Its range is confined to the submontane and montane rainforests of the Titiwangsa Mountains, which form the backbone of the peninsula. Specific occurrences have been recor...
Vulnerable
- The Mountain Peacock-Pheasant was only scientifically described in 1903, an astonishingly late discovery for such a distinctive bird in a relatively well-explored region, hence its specific epithet 'inopinatum', meaning 'unexpected'. - It is considered one of the most elusive and least-known ga...