Vietnamese crested argus
species of bird
The Vietnamese crested argus (Rheinardia ocellata) is a large and spectacular peafowl-like species of bird in the pheasant family with dark-brown-spotted black and buff plumage, a heavy pink bill, brown irises and blue skin around the eyes. The head has two crests; the hind crest, which extends down the occiput, is erected when alarmed and during intentional behaviors including pair bonding and courtship displays. The male has a broad and greatly elongated tail of twelve feathers. The tail covert (or "train") of the male is the longest of any bird and is believed to contain the longest (and widest) feathers to occur in a wild bird; the Reeves's pheasant has tail feathers of similar length but which are considerably narrower. The tail coverts measure up to 1.73 m (5.7 ft) in length, giving the bird a total length of 1.9–2.39 m (6.2–7.8 ft).
Description
Both sexes are similar in size, with females possessing a prominent marbled barring and more colourful dorsal plumage than the male. They possess white facial plumage marked with disruptive patterning. The female's crest is different morphologically, with more rigid plumes that take up more surface area along the occiput and upper hind neck. Their tails are elongated and laterally compressed, although females have considerably shorter tails. The average length of the female is 74–75 cm (2.43–2.46 ft).
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This entry incorporates text from “Vietnamese crested argus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.