| Congo Peafowl | |
|---|---|
| A pair at Antwerp Zoo (male on left of picture and female on right) |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Phasianidae |
| Subfamily: | Phasianinae |
| Genus: | Afropavo Chapin, 1936 |
| Species: | A. congensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Afropavo congensis Chapin, 1936 |
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The Congo Peafowl (Afropavo congensis) is a species of peafowl. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Afropavo.
The male is a large bird of up to 70 cm (28 in) in length. Its feathers are deep blue with a metallic green and violet tinge. It has bare red neck skin, grey feet, and a black tail with fourteen feathers. Its head is adorned with vertical white elongated hair-like feathers on its crown. The female is generally a chestnut brown bird with a black abdomen, metallic green back, and a short chestnut brown crest. Both sexes resemble immature Asian Peafowl, with early stuffed birds being erroneously classified as such before they were officially discovered as a unique species.
It inhabits and is endemic to lowland rainforests of Congo River Basin in the central part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The diet consists mainly of fruits and invertebrates. The male has a similar display to other peacocks, fanning its tail in this case, while other peacocks fan their upper tail coverts. The male Congo Peafowl is monogamous, though information from the wild is needed.
Very little is known about this species. It was first recorded as a species in 1936 by Dr. James Chapin based on two stuffed specimens at Congo Museum in Belgium. It has characteristics of both the peafowl and the guineafowl, which may indicate that the Congo Peafowl is a link between the two families.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size and hunting in some areas, the Congo Peafowl is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
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