Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant

     The Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant is a Pheasant endemic to southern Indochina. It was named after the French colonial army’s veterinary surgeon Louis Rodolphe Germain. The Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant belongs to the Peacock-Pheasants’ family which consists of a group of pheasants that possess prominent round eye-shaped spots (ocelli) on their plumage.

     The plumage of male Germain’s pheasants is dark brown to black, finely spotted with buff. It’s also decorated with large round ocelli, which are brilliant metallic violet-blue and green in color. They can be distinguished from the other Peacock-Pheasants by the larger size of ocelli and the lack of crests or ruffs around the neck. Female Germain’s pheasants are smaller and slightly duller than males, with dark brown plumage streaked and freckled with pale brownish-grey. Also, the ocelli on their back, shoulders and wings are somewhat triangular. Both sexes of the Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant have bare red facial skin around their eyes and grey legs.

     Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant individuals appear to breed from February to April in the wild. Clutches usually consists of two eggs, which are incubated for 21 to 22 days.