Great argus pheasant - male

Description:

This large ground pheasant (male) clears an area in the forest of all leaves, then calls for a female. If she comes he then performs an amazing dance.

Habitat:

It occurs in tall, dry, lowland primary, secondary and logged forests, up to 1,300 m, but principally, below 900 m (BirdLife International 2001, Dinata et al. 2008). It is much sparser in deciduous forest and rare to absent from lowland peat swamp and white-sand heath forests. A recent study in Sumatra, utilising radio-tracking, habitat sampling, camera trapping and transect surveys found that territories averaged 14.5 ha, used mostly by resident males, who showed a preference for undisturbed forest (Winarni et al. 2009). Both sexes show a preference for intact forest with large trees and an open understorey. The species's diet includes fruits, seeds, flowers, leaf buds and invertebrates (Winarni et al. 2009).