The Dragon Bird { Green Peafowls

[Resolution]

Quote:
Hi Minxfox- sorry for my little blow out. You've got the right attitude. I need to drink less black tea.

Kicking thorns grow at a rate depending on factors of the diet and condition of the bird. An old bird will invariably have longer, more developed spurs than a young bird, but if the birds are kept on an optimal diet, they will develop much faster. I've seen some serious kicking thorns on green peahens over the years- generally quite old birds but most that I've noticed have not been very large.

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
Interesting- I assumed the birds are different due to the crest- are you certain they are the same bird? If they are then I'm confused. the bird in the photo doesn't look like spicifer to me but this one does-This bird is almost assuredly spicifer -note the hue of the head and throat- but the photo from Japan looks like Kunming peafowl.

Intergradation occurs amongst regional semi-species, their subspecific races and between ecological species as well.

I'm resisting the term hybrid because the secondary contact between distinct species has been going on for so long it's apparent that though they may be of mixed ancestry they are evolving into their own form. We have also seen in several cases that populations of a species that were assumed to be hybrid were actually the locus from which the two species on either side were derived.

 

[FrankYLegend]

I read somewhere that Jurong bird park has a male and female in public display with some others hidden. It is so strange how the same bird can look different in different photographs!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dedamselfly/3272232184/lightbox/
Even stranger here it's even more intense in colouration:

Another interesting bird, from Labuan Bird Park in Malaysia:

I don't think this one's a spicifer. Malaysian?

 

[clinton9]

Hi Resolution,
Can you please tell me whether colours of primaries of these green peacocks, were correct or wrong ???

Primaries of this Siamese imperator (pavo imperator siamensis)

Tonkin imperator (p.i.tonkinensis)

Javanese (p.javanensis javanensis)

Cardamon green peafowl (pavo ???)

Do not worry about blue and green colour on wing covert & scarpulars as I had to colour as my scannier mistook two last drawing for white & black.

Regarding my drawing of heads of green peacocks...I had corrected the colours of heads of green peacocks and now...are colours on heads of green peacocks, correct ???

Clinton.

 

[Resolution]

Quote:
I also wonder if perhaps in your next effort you'll revisit the wing formula of the Green Peafowl. Their wings are larger, longer and more square than cristatus. The primaries are larger in relation to the rest of the wing than cristatus as well.

 

[clinton9]

Hi Resolution,
Primaries of Javanese peafowl,...Is it of correct colour ??? Javanese wing is 2nd from left, with number 3.

Clinton.

 

[Resolution]

You've nailed it Clifton! I think the only one that's still a smidge off is the Javanese. But all in all you can go light- when you get your paints in the mail- a light touch- subtlety- is all that's needed. The differences are pretty slight- and all the green peafowl appear to have pale primaries so all these colours are a fantastic base upon which you can wash them out with a neutral shade of pale fulvous. This Western Javanese hen has that colour I can't describe to you. The peafowl I saw in Baluran ( south east Java) -their primaries didn't have the same dull hue of the Western form.

 

[clinton9]

Cardamon peafowl = pavo annamensis bokorensis ???

Clinton.

 

[Resolution]

Cardamom peafowl = Pavo annamensis bokorensis of the Cardamom Mountain Range in south western Cambodia.

 

[Resolution]

Clinton- Each form of spicifer have the head, throat and occiput in the hue you perfected so well on the nominate spicifer.
siamensis malar war paint is more orange and its face more vivid blue
annamensis is just about perfect but you wrote imperator before annamensis. They are two distinct (semi)species.
There will be those that disagree vehemently and my opinion is only as good as theirs. Nevertheless, I'm confidant science substantiates my theoretical exposition.