GROUND BIRD - Great Argus (Lifer 576/688)

 

Most of the time you can only hear them calling in a distance, deep in the jungle. If you do want to spend much money to see this rarity bird in the wild, you can visit the Penang Bird Park which they may have one in captivity now. 

Here in Telupid Hide, we encounter the birds in the late morning 10.30am and late afternoon after 3pm. They are marauders in search of fruiting trees; and some says they will follow primates or other mammals, canopy birds  which feed on fruits in the canopy and they will eat the fruits that are discarded by them. 

In October we cannot expect to  see the mating ritual of large male  pheasant. They are monogamous and paired for life unless one of the mate die. If you want to see their mating dance you have to go in April-August. The male clears an open spot in the forest and prepares a dancing ground. He announces himself with loud calls to attract females, then he dances before her with his wings spread into two enormous fans, revealing hundreds of "eyes" while his real eyes are hidden behind it, staring while the hundreds eyes hypnotizing her.

There are two subspecies recognized: Nominate argus of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, and A. a. grayi of Borneo. William Beebe considered the two races to be distinct species, but they have since been lumped.

The great argus is a brown-plumaged pheasant with a blue head and neck, rufous red upper breast, black hair-like feathers on the crown and nape, and red legs, Unusual among Galliformes, the great argus has no uropygial gland. 

The male is one of the largest of all pheasants, measuring 160–200 cm (63–79 in) in total length, including a tail of 105–143 cm (41–56 in), and weighing 2.04–2.72 kg (4.5–6.0 lb).  Males have very long tail feathers and huge, broad and greatly elongated secondary wing feathers decorated with large eyespots. Young males develop their adult plumage in their third year. Our photo of the male is missing its extension speckled  long tail.

Females are smaller and duller than males, with shorter tails and fewer eyespots. They measure 72–76 cm (28–30 in) in total length, including a tail of 30–36 cm (12–14 in), and weighs 1.59–1.7 kg (3.5–3.7 lb).

You may like to know there is another Argus you can see in Peninsula - the Crested Argus which is even longer at 190- 239 cm compared to the Great Argus which is 160-200 cm in length. Maybe because of the longer tail. The Crested was once sighted in Kuala Tahan  in June 2020 ie it is a submontane bird  whilst Great Argus is at lowland upto 900m.