Vietnamese Crested Argus

The Vietnamese crested argus is an enormous, long-tailed pheasant with dark brown plumage densely marked in buff, white and black, a short crest, heavy pink bill and blue skin around the eye. Males exceed 190 cm when the extraordinary tail is included; females are much shorter, around 75 cm, with a shorter crest and tail. Both sexes lack leg spurs. Its size, spotted plumage and resonant hooting call distinguish it from peacock-pheasants (Vietnam Wildlife Photography Club; Wikipedia, general species account).

It is restricted to central Vietnam and adjoining Laos, inhabiting primary and secondary evergreen forest on low mountains and locally reaching about 1,700–1,900 m. Vietnamese records extend from south of the Ca River toward Lam Dong, including Bach Ma, Ke Go, Khe Nuoc Trong and Bidoup. Acoustic study at Kon Chu Rang identified short calls and long sequences averaging 6.21 syllables and 9.84 seconds, providing a way to survey this elusive ground bird without seeing it (Nguyen & Vu 2023; Vietnam Wildlife Photography Club).