The crested fireback Lophura ignita
The crested fireback is found in lowland forests of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra, where these timid birds usually hide in dense thickets of plants, which they leave very reluctantly. It is a medium-sized pheasant, up to 70 cm long. The underparts of the male, his belly and sides are velvet-red, but overall beautiful plumage is metallic-black. The blackish-blue tail is rather short, just 24–26 cm long, with two prominent brownish-yellow rectrices. The legs are grey, sometimes with a tinge of red. The females have plainer brown plumage, with white colour on the neck and chin, and white-edged dark-brown feathers on the underparts. The birds live in small groups, feeding on both plant and animal food: seeds, fruit, insects and their larvae. The female lays 4 to 8 eggs on the ground, with both mates participating in the incubation, which period lasts for about a month. The chicks are reared by both parents and fed on small insects, and sometimes on fruit and greens. Young birds reach sexual maturity only in the third year of life.
