The Bornean Peacock-pheasant (see Remarks 1) is endemic to the island of Borneo, where it has been recorded to date from Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia, and Kalimantan, Indonesia. The following account has drawn extensively on a compilation of important new evidence by Sözer et al. (ms a), as part of the results of their “Kalimantan Pheasant Project”, and grateful acknowledgement is made here to the authors for free access to this material. Records are from: Indonesia and Malaysia. INDONESIA :Kalimantan n East Kalimantan (see Remarks 5) “Kemawen”, i.e. Kihammawon, September 1969 (male in MZB; also van Balen and Holmes 1993); Danumparoy in the Ratah river headwaters, c.160 m, feathers shown of a bird taken some years before January 1996 (Sözer et al. ms a); Ma’au, 75 m, near tributaries of the Ratah, three birds trapped, July–September 1996 (Sözer et al. ms a); Sungai Wain Nature Reserve, March–April 1998 (G. Fredriksson per SvB, and in Sözer et al. ms a), with a dead male, apparently eaten by a civet, 120 m in primary dipterocarp forest, May 2000, and an apparent female along a track on a ridge near the same spot, July 2000 (G. Fredriksson in litt. 2000); Sungai Apa, a small tributary of the upper Marikoi river, near Tumbang Korik village, 150 m, feathers shown of one of three birds taken in or around April 1996 (Sözer et al. ms a); Balikpapan Bay, February 1909 (Smythies 1981, specimen in USNM); n Central Kalimantan Tumbang Maruwei, on the Barito river, c.70 km north of Muara Teweh, where two males and a bundle of male tail feathers were collected in September–November 1915 (Voous 1961); Muarateweh (type locality), on the Teweh river, mid-1870s (Brüggemann 1877, 1878), with a male and female collected there
in the late 1870s (von Pelzeln 1879, 1880; see Remarks 6); Sungai Marikoi, 150 m, feathers shown of a bird taken in July 1996 (Sözer et al. ms a); Kualakurun, (100 km north of) Palangkaraya, March 1979 (specimen in MZB; see Remarks 7, also Remarks 6); Sungai Ewang, between the Senamang and Bemban rivers, feathers shown of a bird taken in 1990–1991 (Sözer et al. ms a); Kiham Batang, 200 m, upper Senamang river, November 1996 (T. O’Brien in litt. 2000, Sözer et al. ms a); Barito Ulu, by local report, 1989 (Dutson 1990); n West Kalimantan (see Remarks 2) Danau Sentarum, by local report (Hood 1993, van Balen 1996c, O’Brien et al. 1998b), with five birds trapped north north-west of Danau Sentarum National Park, 150 m, March 1998 and August 1999 (Sözer et al. ms a); Nangapinoh within the Pt Erna Timber Concession, 120 m, a total of 14 birds trapped for trade between December 1997 and August 1998 (Sözer et al. ms a); Muara Penyelayan, 150 m, November 1997 (Sözer et al. ms a); Sopan Unke, 140 m, near the Penyelayan river, feathers found of a bird taken in November 1997 (Sözer et al. ms a); between Pontianak and Banjarmasin, 1948–1949 (Delacour 1977). A combination of these recent results with the older records and with anecdotal evidence provided by reliable local witnesses results in roughly 17 clusters of sites in Kalimantan within which the Bornean Peacock-pheasant is felt likely to be present, as follows: (East Kalimantan) Ratah river; Pari and Maribu rivers; Gunung Lumut; Gunung Beratus–Balikpapan Bay–Lawa river–Kedang river; upper Kedangpahu river; upper Kelau river; (Central Kalimantan) Senamang river; upper Kahayan river; Murui river; south of the upper Barito river; upper Barito, Murung and Maruwei rivers; (South Kalimantan) Pitap river (Gunung Besar); (West Kalimantan) north-west of Danau Sentarum; Sandai-Nangatayap; west of Bukit Baka and Bukit Raya; Nanganinoh; and Serawai river (Sözer
et al. ms a). Throughout Borneo the species has been judged “extremely rare” (Smythies 1981, Mann in prep.). The total population was reckoned to be under 1,000 in 1995 (McGowan and Garson 1995). The problem with assessing its status is that it is likely to be patchily distributed according to a particular and as yet weakly understood habitat preference or circumstance (see Measures Proposed). Quantification of decline in this species has been attempted, but this exercise was greatly hampered by paucity of data: eight localities were traced, seven before and one after 1970 (i.e. none shared) (McGowan et al. 1998a). In the present review, 21 localities have been identified, eight before and 13 after 1980. Nevertheless and notwithstanding the numbers estimated for Kalimantan below the decline of this lowland forest species must have been precipitate in the past few decades owing to habitat loss compounded by other human pressures (see Threats). This Bornean Peacock Pheasant is a bird of lowland dipterocarp and alluvial forest, ranging from sea-level to 1,000 m (Mann in prep.), and its favoured habitat has been thought to be riverine forest, a severely threatened forest type (van Balen and Holmes 1993). By contrast, local people report this species to occupy lowland primary forest but seemingly keeping clear of wetter substrates in swamp forest or near waterbodies, and GIS analysis of these records suggests that the habitat is lowland plain and lowland dipterocarp forest onmoderately fertile soils (O’Brien et al. 1998b). Despite misgivings about the sources of this information (see Population), in general other parallel studies have yielded the same results: recent confirmed records come from secondary and primary lowland dipterocarp forest along rivers, the lower parts of primary hill (but still under 200 m) dipterocarp forest, and temporarily dry swamp forest, with the species preferring forest on the black, more fertile (alluvial) soils and always being trapped near smaller rivers or streams (Sözer et al. ms a). Calling heard in Sabah, August 1998, came from close to a small stream flowing into a larger river, typical of habitat of Malaysian Peacock-pheasant (J. Corder in litt. 1999) but the caller may have been a kingfisher (see Remarks 2). In Sarawak there is a record from “steep slope forest” (McGowan and Garson 1995).Source: Animal-Discovery-Channel
