Grey Peacock Pheasant
Polyplectron bicalcaratum
Thailand & Himalayas
 

Measurements

Body length: 50 to 65cm

 

Diet

The diet consists mainly of seeds, termites, fruits and invertebrates.

Identification

This species can be distingushed from other Polyplectron species by the overall grayish brown plumage that is finely mottled with drak gray, white and buff. Males have metallic bluish-green marking on the wings and mantle. Each tail feather is marked with two large metallic green, with a tint of purple, marking. All male pheasants usually develop a spur on the back of each leg. Peacock pheasants can grow more than one spur, hence their Latin name Polyplectron meaning many spurred.

Behaviour

Peacock pheasants get their name because they display like a peacock.

 

  

Distribution & Habitat

This small pheasant was originally found from the foothills of the Himalayas in Sikkim to the forests of Thailand; inhabiting broadleaf evergreen forests and canebrakes at an elevation of 150 to 1,500 meters,

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in March and may last until July. They lay just two eggs in a clutch but may lay several clutches in a season. The incubation period lasts about 21 days.
Our male is the progeny of birds recently donated to the World Pheasant Association by the Forestry Department in Thailand.

Conservation

The Thai Government wished to establish a reserve stock of their rare and endangered pheasants in the UK as an insurance against disease within the few birds which still survive in the wild.
It is listed on Appendix II of CITES