Crested argus

Description

The female is similar in size,with a prominent marbled barring and more colourful dorsal plumage than the male.Her conspicuous white facial plumage is like the male,marked with disruptive patterning.The female's crest is different morphologically,with more rigid plumes that take up more surface area along the occiput and upper hind neck.The female's tail is elongated and laterally compressed as is that of the male but of considerably shorter length.The average length of the female is 74–75 cm (2.43–2.46 ft).There are two species in genus Rheinardia.The Malaysian R.nigrescens,inhabits the Malaysian Isthmus and the Annamese inhabits the Annametic Mountain Range.Despite being sexually dimorphic galliform by length,the male only weighs about 20% more than the female.The average weight is around 1.5 kg (3.3 lb).The wings of the crested argus are of unusual size and length for its weight.They wide and square like those of Argusianus versus rounded and abbreviated like those of True Pheasants.Additionally,there is no discernible trailing edge secondary wing notch amongst the flight feathers,indicating a capacity of sustained flight in species of this genus.They are morphologically similar to the wings of certain semi-arboreal Craciformes,particularly Guans of the genus Pipile.The feet and legs of crested argus are also notable in the presence of curiously developed leg scales in males which are widened in such a matter that they give each limb the appearance of the foreleg of a Varanid Lizard.The toes are long and gracile and like other peafowls,the hind toe is less recumbent than those of more strictly terrestrial Galliformes.