Subspecies: None recognized.

Range: The Congo Basin in central Zaire (now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Habitat: Rainforests

Description: The males are mostly dark blue all over with a metallic green and purple tinge, and have a much shorter tail (with no ocelli) than the Asian species. The upright crest is white in front with a few dark feathers behind. The throat is reddish-brown. The hen is also very different from Asian peafowl. She has a bright chestnut breast, underparts and forehead, while the back is metallic green.

Status in Wild: Unknown

Interesting Facts: Not known to science until the 1930s. This species shows characteristics of both peafowl and guineafowl, perhaps a historic link between the two families.

Misc. Aviculture Notes: In captivity, they are known to lay their small clutches of 2 to 4 eggs in an elavated nest box or on platforms placed about five feet from the ground. Incubation lasts about 26 days incubated by only the female. Chicks rely heavily on insects as their diet for the first week of life. Females reach sexual maturity the first year for females and males nearly two; adult plumage is not attained until the second year.

Other Names

Subspecies: There are three subspecies: (P. m. muticus) native to Malaysia and Java, (P. m. spicifer) from northeastern India & northwestern Myanmar (now believed to be extinct) and (P. m. imperator) found in Indo-China.

Range: South-east Asia

Habitat: Forests and scrubland.

Description: A very beautiful bird, more upright in stance than the India Blue. The overall coloration of metallic green feathers tipped with black, give the appearance of scales. The crest of this species stands nearly erect compared to the broad crest of its Indian relative; bare skin of blue and yellow beneath the eye, dark bluish-green metallic feathers on the remainder of the head and neck. The wing coverts are dark green and blue, with the flight feathers chestnut. The tail is similar to the India Blue, but is somewhat darker at the base and has a golden sheen throughout the train. There is slight variation between the subspecies: muticus is the brightest green of the three with bright iridescent blue and green wing coverts; spificer is much duller and there is more blue in the plumage than muticus and imperator; imperator is similar to muticus, but can be distinguished by having darker flanks, abdomen and secondaries and much lighter facial skin.

Description, Female: Unlike the India Blue, the hen of this species is similar to the male. She lacks the brilliant sheen and gloss of the male, but does have the scaling of the feathers. Her tail is also fairly long. Some hens may develop spurs.

Breeding Season: Late April to June

Breeding Age: Third year, however, second year hens may lay fertile eggs if kept with an older male.

Clutch Size: 4-6

Incubation Period: 26-28; the chicks grow quickly, able to fly good distances at two weeks of age.

Other Names

Subspecies: Monotypic, but a host of mutations exist.

Range: Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. Many feral populations exist throughout the world.

Habitat: Varied, deciduous forests, cultivated lands and near villiages.

Description: Unmistakable, could only possibly be confused with the Green Peafowl. Males are large, with a long ornate tail used for courtship. Distinguishable from Pavo muticus in having a royal blue neck and breast; facial skin is white, crest is fan shaped. Immature males have varied plumage, but will have the fan-shaped crest and mottled blue upperparts. Second year males show a smaller tail, often without ocelli. By the third year, they reach full plumage and sexual maturity. The tail may continue to grow for another two to three years. Males will molt and lose their tails each year in late summer.

Description, Female: Rather drab in comparison to the male. Facial skin and crest shape same as in male, but crest is brown. The throat is white, breast and back of neck green; abdomen pale buff to cream, rest of body light brownish-gray.

Status in Wild: Very common in most areas of the natural range.

Interesting Facts: The National Bird of India. This species is sometimes simply called the Peacock; the peacock is the male, females are known as peahens and the young are peachicks. Pavo is Latin for peafowl. cristatus is Latin for crested. Peafowl have been kept in captivity for many centuries and have been reported in ancient Egyptian, Roman and Greek history.

Captive Diet: When on free range, will eat just about anything! A balanced diet should be offered to include poultry pellets and grain. Birds housed in aviaries should be offered greens and live food when available.

Breeding Season: Varies depending on region. In Missouri, can begin as early as March. Egg laying is usually complete by the time the males drop their tails in July, but there are exceptions!

Breeding Age: As a rule, males are not mature until their third year, but second year males are often fertile. I have heard of first year hens laying, but the second year is the average.

Clutch Size: Average clutch sizes in the wild are 6 to 8. Captive birds will lay up to three clutches.

Incubation Period: 28 days.

Other Names

Subspecies: There are living two subspecies, the Malaysian Great Argus (A. a. argus) can be found in Malaysia and Sumatra and the Bornean Great Argus (A. a. grayi) found on Borneo. A. a. bipunctatus is known only from a portion of a primary feather of uncertain origin. Believed to be extinct and was found on Tioman Island off the Malay Peninsula.

Habitat: Forests, from sea-level to 4,000 feet.

Description: One of the most unusual of all bird species, males are unmistakable with massive primary, secondary and tail feathers. The face is blue, the crown is black with a distinctive short crest. The upperparts are brown, finely mottled with buff; iridescent ocelli can be found on the wings and tail. The wings can continue to grow until the bird reaches its sixth year. A. a. grayi is slightly smaller than A. a. argus and can be distingiused by the burnt orange on the breast and neck and with more white spotting. Females are similar, but smaller than males; also lack the ornate tail and wings.

Status in Aviculture: Very rare in private aviculture.

Clutch Size: 3 to 4 eggs

Incubation Period: 25 days

Other Names

Subspecies: Rheinard’s Crested Argus R. o. ocellata, Malay Crested Argus R. o. nigrescens.

Range: R. o. ocellata – Central Vietnam, Eastern Laos; R. o. nigrescens – Central Peninsular Malaysia.

Habitat: Tropical forests.

Description: Unmistakable, may only be confused with the Great Argus in central Malaysia, but tail is longer in male, head pattern distinctive with ; most noticeable feature are the central tail feathers which are up to 5 inches wide and nearly 6 foot long in adult males. Males attain their adult plumage the third year, but will the tail may not reach full length until the sixth year. Crests are longer in nigrescens and the overall plumage with more pronounced spotting than ocellata.

Description, Female: Smaller than the male, with a much shorter tail; darker overall, the plumage is more barred than spotted as in the males; they have a distinctive head pattern and are also crested.

Range: The island of Palawan in the Philippines.

Subspecies: There are no subspecies recognized, but males with white supercillia (often referred to as double-barred in captivity) are sometimes given subspecies status as nehrkornae. This is disputed and the variation is probably insignificant.

Habitat: Forested areas

Description: Unmistakable from the other species in the genus. The crest is long and pointed which is dark metallic green as is the crown and neck; the facial skin around the eye is bright red with a white patch under the eye. Some males will have another white patch or bar above the eye that is parallel with the patch below (sometimes extending down the neck), these birds are often referred to as “Double-barred” (see subspecies above). The breast, mantle, flanks and wings are dark metallic greenish-blue and black; there are no ocelli on the rump, rather solid vermiculations of white, black and chestnut. The tail is similar in color with large blue-green ocelli sperated by a black band; the tip of the tail is buff.

Description, Female: Very drab in comparison to the male. Her crest is shorter and often held flat; her face is pale gray that extends from above the eyes to the throat. The rest of the plumage is dark brown, with no ocelli.

Breeding Season: Begins in March in warmer climates and can last into August.

Breeding Age: Males can be sexually mature the first year, although it may take up to three years to fully develop the adult plumage; hens will not often lay until they are two.

Clutch Size: 2 to 5 eggs; buff white in color.

Incubation Period: 18-19 days.

Range: Distributed historically and with museum specimens collected throughout various localities on the island of Borneo; in East, Central and Western Kalimantan, Indonesia and possibly existing in some locations in Sabah and Sarawak, North Borneo . Extremely rare and local in distribution.

Habitat: Lowland forests; where survival of the species probably depends upon the future of lowland primary forest below 300m.

Based on recent fieldwork and the extent of its remaining habitat, the population is estimated to be between 1000 and 2,499. The species is presumed always to have been difficult to detect, possibly reflecting very low densities.

Its ecological needs are poorly understood, research shows the species inhabits lowland plain and lowland dipterocarp forest on moderately fertile soils, probably avoiding wetter substrates in swamp-forest or near water bodies. Recent studies confirm the use of closed dry lowland dipterocarp forest habitats  but a tolerance for regenerating habitats has yet to be properly established.

Description, Male: Crown short crested, barred pale grey and black, the centre glossed with green; ear-coverts black; a large ruff of disintegrated feathers barred black and pale grey, tips metallic violet-blue; upper parts as in P. m. malacense but much redder, the ocelli smaller and greener; tail shorter, the ocelli smaller, less closely connected on the coverts; there is a green ocellus on the outer web of the lateral rectrices and a dull black spot on the inner web; throat and upper breast pure white; sides of breast metallic blue-green; centre of the lower breast white, the rest of the upper parts black with whitish shafts and tiny vermiculations; under tail-coverts spotted brown and black patch near the tip. Iris – grey/white; facial skin orange-red; bill and feet dark grey. Like others of the genus, males can develop a number of spurs on each leg.

Description, Female: Similar to P. m. malacense but more reddish generally; tail shorter, the upper coverts are without blue ocelli, those of the rectrices is smaller and ill-defined; the rectrices are irregularly and coarsely barred with black. Iris light brown; facial skin orange, bill and feet grey. Hens do not develop spurs on their legs.

Other Names

Subspecies: The Bornean Peacock-Pheasant (Polyplectron schleiermacheri) is sometimes considered a subspecies (Delacour 1977); later sources now list as a distinct species.

Range: Formerly found throughout the Malay peninsula from Thailand southward and believed to have been found on Sumatra. Now found only in central Malaysia.

Habitat: Lowland forests.

Brief Description: The male can be distingiushed from other polyplectron species in having an orange face, a longer (forward) crest and buff surrounding each ocelli on the mantle and wings. The hen lacks the crest; smaller than males, ocelli dark also with buff borders.

Status in Wild: Not yet endangered, but vulnerable due to small range and habitat loss.

Clutch Size: Usually just one egg.

Incubation Period: 22-23 days

Variation in the subspecies is distinct, but it is tough to know which subspecies are currently being reared in American aviaries. bailyi and bakeri are the grayest in overall plumage (bailyi the markings and spots are a darker white or buff; bakeri darker than other, spots pure white), both have been imported and have probably crossed through the years. bicalcaratum is browner than the previous two, has also been reared in captivity; ghigi is similar to bicalcaratum, not as dark and the ocelli always surrounded by buffy gray border. I would to like hear from breeders who have been able to breed true lines.

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 ocelli on the wings and mantle. Each tail feather is marked with two large metallic green, with a tint of purple, ocelli. The cheeks and throat are white and he has a gray upright crest that leans forward in courtship displays. The female is much smaller and duller than the male. The ocelli is not near as bright or large as well.

Avicultural Data

These charming little birds do not require very large aviaries, but since they are a tropical species, they do require shelter during the coldest months. Some breeders use heated buildings when the temperatures drop below freezing for several days at a time, and others use dry straw and heat lamps. Being forest birds, be sure to provide plenty of shade during the summer months.

Greys will often become very tame and are not aggressive towards one another. You can breed two hens to one cock. They tend favor more live food than most species of pheasants, and they also enjoy many types of fruits and green food.

The breeding season begins in March and may last until July. The hen will only lay two eggs per clutch, but will lay several clutches if the eggs are collected. The hens also make great mothers and can be allowed to hatch their own eggs. The incubation period lasts about 21 days. Some breeders have difficulty in getting the chicks to start eating, this can be solved by placing a similar sized chick (golden or a bantam) in the brooder to teach the chicks to eat. Placing mealworms or other live “moving” food is another method to get them interested in eating. When the chicks are raised by their natural mother, you will notice that she will offer food to chicks from her beak, so you may want to use a pair of tweezers to offer the mealworms when raising the chicks in a brooder.

Other Names

Range: Southern Vietnam

Subspecies: None

Habitat: Jungles and damp forests.

Brief Description: Generally darker than bicalcaratum. Males have large ocelli, the crest is very short and the facial skin is red. Females are smaller, also with red facial skin and ocelli on tail more pronounced than other members of this genus.

Status in Wild: Germain’s are considered vulnerable in the wild.

Breeding Season:Varies depending on region and climate. Birds in Florida and southern states may begin laying as early as February and May in the northern states.

Breeding Age: Usually not until they are two, but first years have proven fertile from time to time.

Clutch Size: Two creamy white eggs.

Incubation Period: About 22-23 days.