The Congo peacock (Afropavo congensis), known as
the mbulu by the Congolese, a species of peafowl.
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History
Very little is known about this species. It was first
recorded as a species in 1936 by Dr. James Chapin after his failed
searching for the okapi. He noticed the native headdresses which contained
long reddish-brown feathers that he couldn't identify with any previously known
species. Later, Chapin visited the Royal Museum of Central Africa and
saw two stuffed specimens with similar feathers in 1936 labeled as the 'Indian
peacock' which he later described to be actually the Congo peacock, a
completely different species. In 1955, he managed to find seven specimens of
the species alive. It has characteristics of both the peafowland the guineafowl,
which may indicate that the Congo peacock is a link between the two families.
