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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Subject: Re: Green Peafowl Species
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Author:
Kermit
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Date Posted: 06:25:29 03/03/07 Sat
>"Why is there no mentioning of yunnanensis on kicking
>thorn and what happened to Pavo suparnaensi"
I should have changed the information on Pavonine.
Pavo antiqus is suparnaensi. The yunnanensis mentioned is a subspecies of Pavo imperator. Yunnan is a huge country with many completely different ecosystems. It is also an ancient place with forests as old as any on Borneo or Java. There are at least four distinct genotypic forms of peafowl naturally occurring in Yunnan/Tibet. These are the Deqen, Pavo antiqus; the Kunming, Pavo imperator yunnanensis and its cousin the Laotion imperator. Meanwhile the Shan state spicifer is present in northern most Shan states in Myanmar and may cross into Yunnan.
The determination of colour as a way to dilineate these phenotypes is not entirely useful. Every green peafowl female and male will as the season progresses and the plumage becomes abraded with age and exposure to UV light will appear darker and duller than during the beginning of the period in time when the birds make their whereabouts known. We could distinguish this period as the calling period when both sexes utilize loud contact calls to stay in touch; announce territories and alarm. This is the period in time in which the birds make themselves visible and move across open spaces with all the boldness of a hummingbird or king cobra. The rest of the year the birds retire to the shadowy realms of the forests and take great effort to remain invisible at all costs. They will rise in flight silently and slip away on foot long before an intruder knws of their whereabouts. This is the period in which males have cast off their trains and the sexes are difficult to distinguish in the field. During this period of the year all green peafowl appear duller and darker than they might otherwise.
The differences that I have found compelling between the different geographic forms of green peafowl include the shape and length of the wings and retrices, the shape and length of the crest and the basic structure of the plumes that make up that crest. In some green peafowls, the base of the crest is obscured by dense filoplumes in the crown itself. If one is patient and examines carefully the crests of both sexes of a given form of green peafowl they will appreciate that some forms share with the Congo peafowl and Crested Argus the presence of Two distinct crests. Other forms a bit further up the evolutionary latter share with Pavo cristatus the hgihly refined crest - where each plume is bascially identical in size, length and structure.
Other differences between geographic forms will include the length and shape of the metatarsal spur or kicking thorn; the length, shape and colour of the bill, the colour of the irides, the length of the hind toe and most importantly the geographic range itself.
If you take the time and make a map using xerox copies of illustrated bird plates or photographs, find geographic ranges of the monophyletic peafowl family from Red Data Book . This will include the Crested Argus, Congo Peafowl, Pavo peafowls and the Great Argus. Now locate the geographic ranges of the Monophyletic Lophura pheasants. Because the Lophura are younger than the Peafowls you can include Crestless Firebacks, Bulwer's and Salvadoris though you may find it less complicated to leave them out for now. True members of the Lophura tribe are the Crested Firebacks, Siamese Crested Fireback, Black Silvers ( make certain you study the ranges of the southern black Silvers: annamensis; engelbachii, lewisi and beli), Eastern Kalij ( edward's and Swinhoe's), western Kalij ( typical kalij) and finally the northern white Silvers.
Colour code the ranges of each group and then do the same for the peafowl. I mean if you place the Lophura pheasant range maps down first and colour code them you will move faster than if you beginw ith peafowl as their ranges are only fragmentary at best at this point.
Please let me know what your findings are.
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