Crested Fireback - Pheasants
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The Crested Fireback, Lophura ignita, is found throughout the lowland forests of Peninsular Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra.
Due to ongoing habitat lost and overhunting in some areas, the Crested Fireback is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Description:
This pheasant is medium-sized, up to 28 inches (~70cm) long. This forest pheasant has a peacock-like dark crest, bluish black plumage, reddish brown rump, black outer tail feathers, red iris and bare blue facial skin. The female is a brown bird with short crest, blue facial skin and spotted black-and-white below.
There are four subspecies of the Crested Fireback, with two notable and very different forms.
The nominate male Bornean Crested Fireback, Lophura ignita ignita of Borneo and Bangka has a brown central tail feathers, whitish legs and reddish brown below.
The male Vieillot's Crested Fireback, Lophura ignita rufa of the Peninsular and Sumatra has a white central tail feathers, red legs and bluish black streaked white below. The female of nominate form has a dark, blackish tail and whitish legs, while female of the latter has a chestnut brown tail and red legs.
Diet:
The diet consists mainly of plants, fruits and small animals. The female lays 4 to 8 creamy white eggs.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
Aviculture:
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