Palawan Peacock Pheasant
The Palawan peacock-pheasant, with its unique male plumage and distant range, represents a basal offshoot of the genus Polyplectron. The species is widely accepted to be monotypic, but while some males have white supercillia, giving a "double-barred" or masked appearance, others lack this trait, exhibiting dark faces, taller, denser crests and prominent white cheek spots. The birds with white supercillia are sometimes classified as a distinct subspecies, nehrkornae. The white-cheeked form may inhabit deep forest habitat with low ambient light in rolling terrain whilst the masked form appears to inhabit taller, more open forest on flatter terrain with higher ambient light. This masked form exhibits an abbreviated, more tightly compacted and highly iridescent crest. It was long known as Polyplectron emphanum, but the name Polyplectron napoleonis was given one year before and takes priority over the newer name (Dickinson 2001). The Palawan peacock-pheasant is featured prominently in the culture of the indigenous peoples of Palawan. The Palawan Peacock Pheasant (Polypectron Napoleonis) belongs to Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata. Under Class Aves. Order Galliformes means heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkey, grouse, chicken, New World quail and Old World quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, junglefowl and the Cracidae. From the Family of Phasianidae means a large family of gallinaceous birds including the Asiatic pheasants. Genus Polypectron, Species P. Napoleonis.
Gross Morphology
Its head is black in color with pointed dark crest. It has a black beak that is mainly use for eating. The bare skin around its eye is bright red in color. The crest of the peacock is the tuft of feathers located at its head. It also has a white supercilium. It is a white stripe from the base of the beak to the back of its head. Its thorax is covered with black feathers. Its wings have black feather-bases with blue-green on top of it. It is connected in its thorax. The back of the Palawan peacock-pheasant is covered with blue-green feathers. The tail is mainly black in color with white dots and has two rows of large blue-green ocelli. It is an eye-shaped spot found on its tail. Males have 50 cm height and 40 cm for females.
Animal Description
It lives in the primary and secondary forest located in the Southern of Brooke's Point, slopes of Mt. Victoria, and some forests in the North. The primary forest is a woodland undisturbed by humans. It is also called as the virgin forest. While the secondary forest is the woodland which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, or timber harvest. The Palawan peacock pheasant have courtship rituals that males perform in order to attract females. They spread their neck feathers and bob their head up and down with food in their beak, if the female takes it, the male will show off all the decorative ocelli while emitting a long hissing sound and strutting around the female. The male then perches on her back and transfers sperm to the female via avian reproductive organ called cloaca which travels up to the uterus to fertilize. They lay about 2-5 eggs and hatches 18-19 days later. 10 weeks after, the young attain full juvenile plumage. The peacock respires through their nostrils located on their beaks connecting to the lungs where gas exchange takes place. They also excrete waste through their cloaca. They mainly feed on seeds, nuts, leaves, roots, slugs, worms, insects, fruits, and grains.
Taxonomical Classification