The Malayan crested fireback or Malay crested fireback (''Lophura rufa'') is a species of forest

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

found in lowland forests of the

Thai-Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Taxonomy

This species was formerly considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the

Bornean crested fireback The Bornean crested fireback (''Lophura ignita'') is a medium-sized forest pheasant from Borneo and the Bangka Belitung Islands. It is the type species of the genus '' Lophura''. Prior to 2023, it was referred to as simply the crested fireback as ...

(''L. ignita''), with both being grouped together as the crested fireback. Substantial plumage differences between both taxa led to the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

and

Clements Checklist ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

splitting both, with the

International Ornithological Congress International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

also making this change in 2023. A pheasant of uncertain taxonomic provenance, popularly referred to as "Delacour's crested fireback" (formerly ''Lophura ignita macartneyi'') is found in south-eastern Sumatra and the male has white to the tail, whitish legs and a variable amount of

rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish- red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a d ...

below. As ''macartneyi'' specimens are variable, the

Handbook of Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...

regards it as a hybrid between ''L. rufa'' and a possible relictual or introduced population of ''L. ignita''. In 2023, the International Ornithological Congress officially recognized it as representing a

hybrid swarm A hybrid swarm is a population of hybrids that has survived beyond the initial hybrid generation, with interbreeding between hybrid individuals and backcrossing with its parent types. Such population are highly variable, with the genetic and ...

between ''L. ignita'' and ''L. rufa'', and classified it within ''L. rufa''.

Description

It is a medium-sized, up to 70 cm long pheasant with a

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

-like dark crest, bluish black plumage, reddish brown rump, black outer tail feathers, red

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

and bare blue facial skin. The female is a brown bird with short crest, blue facial skin and spotted black-and-white below. It is distinguished from the Bornean crested fireback by its white central tail feathers, red legs and bluish black streaked white below.

Status

Due to ongoing habitat loss and overhunting in some areas, the Malayan crested fireback is evaluated as Vulnerable on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

of Threatened Species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q55111783 Gallopheasants Birds of Thailand Birds of Myanmar Birds of Malaysia Birds of Sumatra Birds described in 1822 Taxa named by Thomas Stamford Raffles