Bulwer Pheasant
| Bulwer Pheasant | ||||||||||
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Rooster of the Bulwer Pheasant |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Lophura bulweri | ||||||||||
| ( Sharpe , 1874) |
The Bulwer's Pheasant or Weißschwanz pheasant ( Lophura bulweri ) is a Galliformes art from the family of pheasant-like , on Borneo endemic is. It is threatened by the rapidly advancing deforestation of its habitats as well as by hunting and is therefore classified by the IUCN as endangered (“vulnerable”).
The conspicuous courtship behavior of the Bulwer pheasant has so far only been observed in captivity. The rooster opens its tail to an upright semicircle and the blue facial lobes swell to a considerable length. The tail consists of up to 32 feathers, which is the highest number of control feathers in any bird. Presumably the middle ones consist of remodeled upper tail covers.
The specific epithet honors the Scottish naturalist James Bulwer .
description
The body length of the rooster is 77–78 cm, of which 45–56 cm are on the tail. The wing length is between 255 and 260 mm and the weight is around 1.3 kg. The hen is smaller with 55 cm body length and 17.5–19 cm tail length. Its wing length is between 225 and 235 mm and its weight is 1.1 kg.
The sexes differ significantly in the color of the plumage. In the rooster, the vivid, sky-blue facial lobes are particularly noticeable, forming an angular "ear" behind the eyes and a pendulous wattling at the corner of the beak. These are cavernous bodies that can grow to many times their length during courtship, with the wattles then hanging down very long and cone-shaped and the earlobes standing straight up, which gives the rooster an extremely exotic look. In profile, the lowered head looks elongated, sickle-shaped and, when fully swollen, measures up to 18 cm in height. The wattles are each spotted black at the end. The eye is rimmed red, the iris carmine red. The beak is black, the tip lightened. The black body plumage has a bluish sheen on the head and neck, and brownish red on the lower neck and upper chest. On the dull black lower breast there are faint blue shining hems. The feathers on the upper side are banded like velvet and have shiny blue tips that form dotted lines on the back and wide hems towards the rump. The silky, shiny, snow-white tail in the adult rooster consists of an unusual number of 30 to 32 control feathers - in young cocks and the hen it is between 24 and 26. The middle ones are probably made up of modified upper tail covers - only these tail feathers are fused with the pygostyle . The tail feathers are bent down in a sickle shape and pointed at the end. The distal part of the shafts of the outer 6-7 pairs of springs is bare. The upper tail covers are also white. The cock's legs are carmine red and have a short, whitish spur on the barrel.
In the hen, the blue, featherless facial region contrasts with the chestnut-colored body plumage. This is finely wavy black, whitish on the throat and a little lighter on the underside. The wave pattern is more washed out here. The wing plumage is dark chestnut colored. The hen also shows a red eye ring. The cock's beak and legs are the same as those of the rooster. Older hens form partially indicated spurs.
Young roosters do not molt into the adult dress until the second year. The youth's dress is duller in color, and the tail, like the hen, is auburn. A spur is already pronounced, but does not yet show its full length.
voice
The contact call is described as a piercing metallic kuuk . A low cackle can be heard as an alarm call that loud and sharp lines in case of strong excitement. The call to the area is shrill and penetrating.
Distribution and existence
The monotypical Bulwer pheasant, endemic to Borneo, occurs in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak , the Indonesian part of the island and in Brunei . It used to be described as common in parts of the interior of the island, for example on the Usun Apau plateau in Sarawak. Further occurrences are known from Kinabatangan , from the upper reaches of the Kapuas and Mahakam and from the Gunung Mulu . In 1995 the total population was estimated to be less than 10,000 animals. Although there were no signs of a decline at the time, an acute threat is to be feared today due to declining observations and the rapidly spreading land use and the associated deforestation. In addition, the species is hunted and the increasing fragmentation of their habitats could lead to their migration behavior being severely restricted.
Way of life
The Bulwer pheasant mainly lives in submontane primary forests at altitudes between 300 and at least 1500 m. It has so far been found in foothills of the wing fruit trees , in lower montan forests of oak and laurel plants , but also on rivers in the plain, in dry jungles and in the undergrowth of light forests.
It is believed that the species is nomadic. It evidently likes to socialize with bearded pigs or the small kantschil and appears irregularly in places in the lowlands where there is a rich food supply of fallen forest fruits. Sometimes, however, it cannot be seen there for years. During the breeding season, which begins in April, the Bulwer pheasant will probably return to the hills and mountains.
Due to their conspicuous appearance, roosters are usually very shy and fly open quickly when they approach. Hens are more likely to rely on their camouflage and crouch on the ground.
So far, courtship has only been observed in aviary birds. The rooster stretches up with its plumage on and turns its tail into a vertical wheel that is straight to the axis of the body, with the two halves of the tail lying close to each other and the central control feathers touching the back. The whole bird then looks like an upright disc. In this position, the rooster strides around the hen and often jerks to a stop. The bare shafts of the outer control springs create a rustling sound in the leaves of the forest floor. The facial flaps are initially only partially swollen and the ear flaps are still hanging down on the side. If there is full visual contact and only a short distance from the hen, they are only thrown around with jerky head movements. Then they are straightened up and the rooster keeps the head lowered so that the beak disappears completely between the lobes and the head looks like a blue, elongated sickle in profile. The rooster turns jerkily by 180 ° to turn its side towards the female. For this purpose, hissing, two-syllable calls are uttered. Similar behavioral elements were observed in hens and young birds in the side presentation position.
The clutch consists of 2–3 light reddish beige eggs of about 51 × 39 mm in size, which are incubated for 27 days.
literature
- Heinz-Sigurd Raethel : Chicken birds of the world. Verlag J. Neumann-Neudamm GmbH & Co. KG, Melsungen 1988, ISBN 3-7888-0440-8 .
Individual evidence
Web links
- Lophura bulweri in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2004. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on 4 October of 2010.
- BirdLife species factsheet , accessed October 4, 2010
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Lophura bulweri in the Internet Bird Collection
- Photos of Lophura bulweri in the Oriental Bird Club image database , accessed on October 4, 2010