Great Argus Python Moth Bird

[Tikkajazz94]

I want one

The colours on them are like A wow moment

 

[Resolution]

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We've all experienced that ethereal light when the sun's first rays stream horizontally into our new day. We've also experienced that glowing emanation of warm sunlight streaming through as the sun makes its regal exit at the day's end. This is referred to as Crepuscular Rays.

Crepuscular rays (play /krɨˈpʌskjələr/; also known as God Rays), in atmospheric optics, are rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky. These rays, which stream through gaps in clouds or between other objects, are columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud-shadowed regions. The name comes from their frequent occurrences during crepuscular hours (those around dawn and dusk), when the contrasts between light and dark are the most obvious. Crepuscular comes from the Latin word crepusculum meaning twilight.[1]

Animals adapted to live within twilight are referred to in behavioral ecology as Crepuscular.

Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk.[1] The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight."[1] Crepuscular is, thus, in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright moonlit night. Many animals that are casually described as nocturnal are in fact crepuscular.[2] Within the definition of crepuscular are the terms matutinal (or "matinal") and vespertine, denoting species active only in the dawn or only in the dusk, respectively.

The patterns of activity are thought to be an antipredator adaptation. Many predators forage most intensely at night, whereas others are active at mid-day and see best in full sun. Thus, the crepuscular habit may reduce predation. Also, in hot areas, it may be a way of avoiding thermal stress while capitalizing on available light.

A number of familiar mammal species are crepuscular, including housecats, dogs[3], rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, and rats. Other crepuscular mammals include prosimians, red pandas, deer, moose, chinchillas, the common mouse, skunks, wombats, quolls, spotted hyenas, bobcats, tenrecidae, capybaras, and the extinct Tasmanian tiger. Crepuscular birds include the Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, American Woodcock, and Spotted Crake.

Some species have different habits in the absence of predators. For example, the Short-eared Owl is crepuscular on those of the Galápagos Islands that have buzzard species, but diurnal on those without.

Many moths, beetles, flies, and other insects are crepuscular as well.

It's difficult for us to really grasp what the deep forest looks like during these brief hours unless we have spent quite a lot of time in forests but not impossible.
This is the one time of the day that much of the virgin forest understory will be exposed to sunlight, so dense is the canopy all those hundreds of feet above.

The Great Argus as a rule, is most active on the forest floor during hours of crepuscular light. Juveniles, females and subadults may be active on the ground for a few more hours of any given day as we observe in peafowl in the genus Pavo and other tropical Gallinaceous birds. ​

 

[Resolution]

Bornean Great Argus male announcing its presence in the twilight on the forest floor. Note how perfectly its plumage acts as a projection screen for both shadow and light.
If the bird were standing perfectly still, taking stock in its surroundings and you were making your way -in a quadruped fashion- somewhere at knee height- you might think the trail ahead in its crepuscular light unobstructed. If you are a creature like a monitor lizard- a fox sized monitor lizard- your eyes might even instruct your reptilian brain that you could pass through- the trail is unobstructed- and I'm not talking about a yard ahead- more like five or ten yards ahead - and that makes all the difference in these encounters- whereby an arms race between massive reptile and dinosaurian bird gets underway.

All that's left for the roving quadruped to discern (for the roving intruder tasting the air with its tongue- tracking prey) is distinctly reptilian even the illusion of cylindrical mass generated by its train.

And then there's the fanning- shape-shifting-transformation-the violent vibration of these strangely elongated quill remiges.

The Great Argus has a series of behaviors it will enact next- elicited by the approach of this most familiar intruder.
It can just go proactive.

OR

It stomps provocatively and makes its presence known- felt as reptiles feel vibration rather than use their ears to hear as we do. The Great Argus does this by pushing wing quills into the leaf litter beneath its feet -dragging vibrating quills- a train trailing four feet beyond its head and that's just wing- there's still another three feet of tail dragging and vibrating beyond that mass. The Great Argus rattles and rumbles -nearly thrashing the perimeters of the path- sending out an unambiguous signal to the intruder- that communicative signal is saying- I am still larger than you and I am dangerous.

It will intentionally step into the light, head and neck greatly attenuated. It owns the spotlight, a great shadowy provocateur, sent by the hen to entice the lizard into a confrontation whereby the reptile will be forced to retreat and the Python Moth Bird will renounce victorious. That volley- sent to the next nest defending male along some neighboring trail is listening and so are all their progeny and the entire forest (with ears) for that matter.

Bornean Great Argus male in territorial posture. Note - it stands on a log atop the leaf litter as if the leaf litter were a pond. For all it's appearances. the Argus ever like the moth-more at ease above the ground than directly on it.

Shadow Play

When twilight rays pass through these remiges, for instance, the Great Argus spreads out and bows his wings when confronted by a fox-sized monitor lizard. He hides his head from strike and whips the air with his tail like a scorpion. The tail throws a shadow of its own -its tips outfitted with perfect serpent heads- that is- their shadows make perfect serpent heads- and where better to cast this shadow than against the near-translucent sail discs of the wings...

The Great Argus ( and the Lyre Bird) is unique in that its clearing creates a great projection screen upon which he casts his own shadow. That's a difficult issue to describe- He's also enacting shadow play when he's not attempting to draw attention to himself with all the fervent determination of a deranged televangelist. That is, when he is quietly foraging in the forest attempting to evade detection at all costs. But when the Great Argus has been alerted to trespass- rather like a spider sensing a fly in its web- he signals that he is ready to do battle with any- but especially the most often encountered threat- the reptilian intruder, he explodes with vibratory signaling and rapid shuttling in a circular trajectory outlining his arena. His threat is an omnipotent one save for creatures like ourselves who find it fascinating and beautiful. For the somewhat dim-witted battle-hardened survivors - those intrepid reptilian nest predators - those cold blooded hunters of juvenile offspring- it's all a bit bewildering. And like other peafowl, the Great Argus is not bluffing. His signals are unambiguous. He intends to do harm to all that trespass in his domain.He draws attention to himself- seeking the roving varanids and then subjugates them to his bizarre form of psychological abuse. But obviously it's more complicated than that. Read more about this topic here if this is something that interests you. It's a complex issue -one better suited for another medium- but I want to share the concept with you as we explore the behavioral ecology of this strange bird. But all of this description is necessary for any aviculturist working with the Great Argus, confused by his seeming omnipotence - and yet- no eggs or poor fertility - and worse- a hen killer. We have to do more than understand what we are observing - we must comprehend the parameters of the bird's own psychology to better maintain it -ethically and productively for the conservation of the species.


Now isn't he attempting to attract a mate? That's what we've been conditioned to believe in every reference that so much as mentions the species-but as the bird spends most of its day in an arboreal realm, sharing his emergent tree shelter with the same female and his own offspring of various ages night after night, year after year, it rather discounts that theory.
It's my belief that the Great Argus, like the Crested Argus and Congo Peafowl is strictly monogamous. More on that later.

The forest floor is a busy place. So many animals are maintaining the foot path the Great Argus is so keen to frequent, it's easy to see why some animals are active during different times of the day. As stated earlier, the Great Argus is most active on the forest floor during crepuscular hours, though it is not entirely uncommon to see them on the ground at any time of the day during the dry season at the height of nesting. The pair that is nesting will be seen on the ground for more hours in the day by virtue of the male's role in defending the nest site and foraging perimeters around that nest site including his "arena". -
To discuss the arena we have to talk about Shadow Play and how and why the Great Argus uses its own shadow projected upon its arena during the height of nesting, when reptiles of the canopy as well the forest floor have tasted the air- and have detected hatching eggs or new born chicks- or a hen with chicks.

What many people are unaware of - a few factoids about this strange creature, is that it's at least seasonally poisonous to eat and that its entire body is a projection screen for shadow.



It's performance is a curious form of seasonal Aposematism .
This in turn is related to the subject of ]Mullerian Mimicry
which is my own and one that is in development as a theory. I won't be bothering you further with this aspect of a particular form representative of my theory of ma'ahesian mimicry today. Instead, I'd like to draw attention to physical aspects of shadow play in which the argus engages.

The Great Argus is adept at using any shadow to create optical illusions, which obscure his true form.

note the twisted tips of the central retrice feathers. The shadow of these plumes is decidedly serpentine.
This serpentine shadow gives the birds a decided advantage when it stands at stationary alert in the dimly lit forest. The false head of the tail tips raises in height depending on the level of alarm. Shadow cast by the tail is as visible, in the crepuscular light that the argus prefers to forage in, as the central tail feathers themselves. This is the first affectation adopted in the bird's shadow play


While guarding the few yards of his clearing he stomps his feet and hisses, vibrates his plumage and throws back his head, advertising his location, all in a valiant attempt to draw the attention and to distract and ostensibly baffle all those would-be predators of his nest and foraging offspring. We should keep in mind that like other peafowls, delayed maturity is the crux of the Great Argus's reproductive strategy. The male is responsible for locating a nest site and convincing his mate to choose it to nest in. He is then obsessed with guarding that nest using all his extraordinary, shape shifting talents. While she incubates their eggs, he is also responsible for the well-being of his slowly maturing offspring from past successful broods. He may also be guardian of one of his own younger brothers and then there are satellite territories of his kin and social peers- he's a sentinel with every atom of his being.


This extraordinary display the male Great Argus performs before his mate while on his 'arena' is comprised of a highly ritualised series of complex behaviors which serve to demonstrate his fitness, stamina and capacity to draw attention to himself. This performance is a demonstration of how he will defend against a certain class (largely reptilian) of predators, which feed almost exclusively on small animals (especially birds and their nests) close to and on the forest floor. It's important to remember that these are primeval forests where reptiles are very much a dominating feature. There are dozens of species of snakes in every hectare, half a dozen species of varanid lizards and so on. They hatch in large clutches or are produced via live birth- in large clutches- and while they will often mature into very large creatures- in a number of years- they all pass through growth stages from vulnerable newly hatched reptile to voracious mid-sized reptile to deadly enormous reptile. The forest is thick with predatory reptiles and they are forever on the hunt. This is one of the greatest challenges for any bird. Some birds like the Great Argus have adapted a means to dissuade the trespass of reptilian intruders. In many ways, the Great Argus embodies an arms race between reptile and bird that has been ongoing since times Jurassic.

 

[Resolution]

Sumatran Great Argus male utilising an elevated walk way in much the same manner as they might frequent natural interlocking bridges created by enormous branches between the crowns of giant trees in the primary forest. This is their preferred diurnal habitat and one in which they spend the greater percentage of their every day lives.

The Great Argus is most active on the forest floor during twilight hours. This is when the birds accomplish the most foraging, again, while on the forest floor, as they lead a very different arboreal existence as well. During their arboreal activities ( including forays onto the highest elevations of mountain slopes within their home range) they may forage and socialize more or less actively during all hours of the day. Judging from the behaviors of captive birds, juveniles of different generations and families may well congregate there.

Subadult and juvenile Great Argus foraging together ( captive) in close cooperation. Complex social interactions between offspring of different generations are referred to as Helper Systems .

This issue is critical to understand as there are months when the Great Argus is obliged, by torrential rains, to remain in the overstory and canopy. While in the canopy the Great Argus forages for ants, tree frogs and their eggs , small lizards and drupes.

The management of the species in captivity is often lacking for the absence of appropriate physical space upon which the birds can frequent at different times of the day. This physical space - digression-
The ground of an aviary or zoo exhibit is landscaped and planted to create a comfortable and stimulating terrestrial habitat. Why is it that this is comforting to the birds? Because they feel that they can conceal themselves and take their leisure without worry of detection by predatory species. When something gets after an argus it retreats to the highest spot it can reach.
But the Argus is not truly a terrestrial species. It would prefer to spend its day on wide branches, which enable it to move about much as it might on the ground. The canopy within a primary dipterocarp forest is a bit like Swiss cheese. You can't see through it, save for a few major holes and gaps in the densest hedge of canopy but if you're a clouded leopard, a python, an orangutan or Great Argus you can move about with just as much ease as if you were on the ground. These moss covered branches are three men wide in many places and those that are growing horizontally will often interlock with one another -like covered bridges between gaps in the canopy . This is where the argus spends most of its life, an oddly terrestrial existence on the roof of the forest towering hundreds of feet above the ground.

In nature, there are two altitudes at the lowest level of the forest the Great Argus frequents, the inclined slope where it forages actively and the wide forest trails of large animals winding through the lightless understory where it forages for larger prey and paces its territory.


An argus enclosure or aviary will ostensibly be tiered at precise elevations. The mid layer loft will very often become the nesting territory where the hen will hatch her chicks and brood them for much of the day throughout their lives. You can think of this mid level loft as their main living quarters. The topmost loft is father's office and the lowest level loft is a foraging table/dining room.
The floor of the aviary becomes the yard in which the birds frequent only during certain hours of the day. Eventually, the males will take claim of the lower most loft as their soapbox arena with the front yard beneath it as their stomping territory. The flight displays of both sexes will include fluttering and hovering between lofts. The Great Argus is inactive a good deal of the day naturally but when maintained in aviaries covered in shade cloth, with shade clothed walls and shade cloth covering most of the roof of the aviary- with multiple holes cut through that shade cloth- roof- the birds become much more active as there preference is to remain invisible. Help them disappear in plain sight and they will be as active as any other peafowl.



Getting back to behavioral ecology of the Great Argus; During the dry season the Great Argus returns to its terrestrial existence on the forest floor where they forage for small animals. Chief amongst these, amphibians, ants, beetles and beetle larvae, mollusks and crustaceans, such as small terrestrial crabs andisopods , related to our pill bugs. They also consume fungi, decaying fruit, drupes and the shoots of certain understorey plants.

Due to the position of the sun as it relates to the canopy during daylight hours, these deep forest habitats can be nearly lightless. Indeed, naturalists have opined that bioluminescent fungi often makes it easier to see during nightfall than during the day within virgin tropical forest.


Twilight rays course more or less horizontally and this enables crepuscular creatures to utilise their senses of sight more efficiently. The Great Argus is one of those creatures.





This bath of exquisite, particulate-rich light - that is - the air is thick in particles, forever falling from vegetation, the gossamer of spider and caterpillar silk, the pollen and spores of countless flowers, mold and fungi-the perpetual steam of transpiration- this surreal illumination reveals a dimensionless landscape unseen during other hours.

When this great python patterned, moth shaped peafowl glides hundreds of feet, sometimes hundreds of yards over the canopy -effortlessly spiraling down to its favorite terrestrial haunts, it has just a few things in mind. It must secure sufficient nutrition and keep its social unit in vocal proximity at all times.

The male of the species has also got to clear his arena of leaf litter. The arena may be as small as three yards in diameter or larger depending on the age and social ranking of the bird.
He removes every leaf, twig and stone from this clearing. This activity is his daily obsession.
This is a never-ending process as the forest if forever shedding matter. A short rain storm overnight may all but bury his clearing.
He maintains this year round in much the same manner that Megapode males tend to their enormous mounds every day of the year regardless of their being any eggs to incubate and the manner in which male Roul Roul and Arborphilia Hill Partridge work in concert forever repairing their curious thatched igloos built seemingly randomly about their foraging territories- in which their colony will eventually nest.

More similarly still is the manner in which male Peacock-Pheasants of the genus Polyplectron maintain their own much smaller clearings on the forest floor replete with hollows they dig out with their bills and multiple spurs on the backs of their legs. When confronted with certain threats, the males kneel within their mini-trench they obscure their keel and breast. They vibrate their plumage against surrounding leaf litter. Within their hollow the Polyplectron rapidly kick their legs against the earth. This sends out a vibratory signal that reptiles can readily understand.

In these instances we have male Gallomorphs modifying their environments in direct relation with territorial defense -defense of nest territory and progeny- defense of foraging territory. These birds are remarkably sedentary. They may never leave the territory in which they were born- sometimes no more than a few miles. The territorial and environment enhancing behaviors harken back to the days of the dinosaurs. These are some of the most primitive extant birds.

 

[clinton9]

Hi Resolution,
How many subspecies / races of Great Argus ???

I had not seen the photoes of adult male Great Argus in flight.

Clinton.

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
There are two distinct species - the Malaysian Argusianus argus and the Bornean Argusianus greyi and there's a subspecies of the Malaysian found only on Sumatra Argusianus argus sumatrensis.

Catching a Great Argus in flight is pretty difficult as they fly primarily at twilight and on full moon lights. At twilight, both sexes perform flight displays. This is generally elicited by the female. On bright moonlit nights the males may migrate from one emergent tree to another. As this takes place in hill forest and the overstory of the forest is a few hundred feet above the canopy, generally a few hundred feet high itself, this requires sustained flight at a fairly significant altitude. Judging from my own observations of free-ranging Great Argus, the birds move at a surprising velocity and may even vocalize on wing. Their nocturnal flight included extended glides with secondary wing sails spread. The Primaries and alula produce a characteristic buzzing sound audible for some distance. The objective appears to be maintaining altitude and advertising territoriality over a fairly wide area. The climbing flight to return to their home territory may sometimes include a dramatic half-circle around their tree. Males pursuing one another on wing is not that unusual. We see this in diurnal species like the Green Peafowl, Sumatran Bronze Tail Peacock-Pheasants, Copper Pheasants, Lady Amherst's Pheasants, Crestless Firebacks and Swinhoe's Pheasants. These species chase intruders of their own species as well their mates- they drive them through the air. I'm certain typical Peafowl move from their roosting trees on moonlit nights during the height of their nesting season and Congo Peafowl are believed to be active in these conditions as well. This year I've rigged a contraption to film flying Great Argus- by this time next year you'll have a slow motion film. I should underscore that the males pursue one another but they're not particularly bloodthirsty ( like Reeves or Monals during their seasons). The activity appears to be primarily exhibition- the females and juveniles watch intently. The males may be seen during the day foraging in close proximity to one another.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Argus are just the coolest birds.

 

[zazouse]

I agree ,
heck this entire post is the coolest thing , because i had never seen nor heard of them untill now.

Thanks Resolution,
i have learned wonderful things here.

ZAZ

 

[Alien]

Anybody know what a full set of Argus wing feathers would be worth on the taxidermy or flytying Market?
Thanks

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
Needs Lots of editing- will get back at it as time permits- I've gone back in and cleaned it up a bit but it's disorganized still in places.