The crested fireback (Lophura ignita) is a
medium-sized, up to 70 cm long, forest pheasant with a peacock-like
dark crest, bluish black plumage, reddish brown rump, black outer tail
feathers, red iris and bare blue facial skin. The female is a brown
bird with short crest, blue facial skin and spotted black-and-white below.
The crested fireback is found in lowland forests of the Thai-Malay
Peninsula, Borneoand Sumatra. There are four subspecies of
the crested fireback. Males of the subspecies from Borneo and Bangka
Island, L. i. ignita (lesser Bornean crested fireback) and L. i.
nobilis (greater Bornean crested fireback), have brown central tail
feathers, whitish legs and are rufous below. The male Vieillot's
crested fireback, L. i. rufa, of the Thai-Malay Peninsula and most of
Sumatra has white central tail feathers, red legs and bluish black streaked
white below. The final subspecies, Delacour's crested fireback, L. i.
macartneyi, is found in south-eastern Sumatra and the male has white to the
tail, whitish legs and a variable amount of rufous below. The female
of L. i ignita and L. i. nobilis have a dark, blackish tail
and whitish legs, while female of L. i.a rufa has a chestnut brown
tail and red legs.
The diet consists mainly of plants, fruits and small
animals. The female usually lays between four to eight creamy white eggs.
Due to ongoing habitat loss and overhunting in some areas,
the crested fireback is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix III of CITES in Malaysia.
