Monday, November 22, 2010

Birdlife of Vietnam 2006.

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Vietnam Post has issued the stamp series comprised of 5 pieces stamps, featured the pheasant birds and partridge birds with the collaboration of Birdlife International Organisation on year 2006. The species depicted are Edwards's Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi), The Orange-necked Partridge (Arborophila davidi), The Vietnamese Pheasant (Lophura hatinhensis),The Germain's Peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron germaini) , and The Crested Argus (Rheinardia ocellata).

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Edwards's Pheasant, Lophura edwardsi, is a bird of the pheasant family Phasianidae that is endemic to the rainforests of Vietnam. Edwards's Pheasant has identified with sized of 58–67 cm long, with red legs and facial skin. The male is a mainly blue-black bird with a crest, and the female is a drab brown bird. The alarm call is a puk-puk-puk.

Edwards's Pheasant has two varieties, the nominate form Lophura edwardsi edwardsi has a white crest and upper tail, and the northern form Lophura edwardsi hatinhensis is found with a variable number of white retrices. This difference in the two forms may be due to inbreeding of a restricted, fragmented population there, and has also been seen in captive, inbred Lophura edwardsi edwardsi.

Both forms of Edward's Pheasant are currently listed as endangered species, having suffered from deforestation, hunting and the use of defoliants during the Vietnam War.This species is currently believed to number between 1000-3000 birds in the wild, mostly of the nominate form, but it is doing well in captivity, where it is the subject of ex-situ conservation.



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The Orange-necked Partridge (Arborophila davidi) is a species of bird in the Phasianidae family and found in eastern Cambodia and southern Vietnam along the Cambodian-Vietnam border. The Orange-necked Partridge has identified with the size of 27 cm, Well-marked partridge with bold, black-and-white head markings and orange neck flush. 

The Orange-necked Partridge natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and plantations. It is resident in evergreen forest in lowlands and foothills, from 120 m to at least 600 m, particularly hills covered with non-thorny bamboo.

It is threatened by habitat loss. Extensive deforestation, particularly from herbicide spraying during the Vietnam War, presumably triggered a historic decline. Habitat loss through commercial logging, unofficial timber collection and clearance of land for cultivation, compounded by high hunting levels across its restricted range, now represent the main threats. The Orange-necked Partridge has been down listed to Near Threatened.



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The Vietnamese Pheasant (Lophura hatinhensis) is a species of gallopheasant. Discovered in 1964, it is endemic to central Vietnam. The Vietnamese Pheasant has identified are sized of 58-65 cm, blue-black pheasant (male) with short, shaggy white crest, red facial skin and white central tail feathers and the female uniform cold greyish-brown with warmer tinged wings and blackish tail with brown central tail feathers.  

The Vietnamese Pheasant ranges in the concentrates around Ke Go Nature Reserve in Ha Tinh Province. It inhabits primary and secondary (including logged) evergreen forest in lowlands and hills from sea-level (at least historically) to c.300 m. It may tolerate habitat degradation, but is apparently far more common in closed-canopy forest, and has been trapped in dense streamside vegetation.

The Vietnamese Pheasant are continuing to decline owing to destruction of its specialised lowland forest habitat and high levels of hunting, it may be up -listed to Critically Endangered in the very near future. Its global population has been estimated at less than 2,500 individuals. In December 2003, the known captive population numbered 177 individuals.


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The Germain's Peacock-pheasant ( Polyplectron germaini ) ,is a medium-sized, approximately 60 cm long (male 56-60 cm, female 48 cm), brownish dark pheasant with finely spotted buff, short crest, bare red facial skin, brown iris and purplish-blue ocelli on upper body plumage and half of its tail of twenty feathers. Both sexes are similar. The female has eighteen tail feathers and is smaller than male.

The global population estimated to be >10,000 individuals. The German’s Peacock-pheasant is endemic to southern Indochina. It is found in semi-evergreen dry forests of southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia from sea-level up to at least 1,400 m. The female usually lays two creamy-white eggs. Due to ongoing habitat loss and limited range, the Germain's Peacock-pheasant is evaluated as Near Threatened.

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The Crested Argus, Rheinardia ocellata, is a large (up to 235cm long) and spectacular peafowl with dark-brown-spotted black and buff plumage, a pink bill, brown irises and blue skin around the eyes. The head is small, decorated with white erect crest feathers on the rear crown. The male has a broad and greatly elongated tail of twelve feathers, up to nearly two meters long (for a long time, considered the longest feathers from a wild bird species). The female looks similar, with a shorter crest and tail. The two species are the only members in monotypic genus Rheinardia.

Little is known about this species in the wild. A shy and elusive bird, the Crested Argus is found in forests of Vietnam, Laos and Malaysia in Southeast Asia. The diet consists mainly of, invertebrates, mollusks, amphibians, small reptiles, bamboo shoots, leaves, fruits and fungus.

The Crested Argus retires on emergent trees above the forest canopy for many hours a day. They will remain on these trees for days at a time during the wet season. The Crested Argus is strong fliers and pairs have been reported flying together.Due to ongoing habitat loss as well as overhunting in some areas, the Crested Argus is evaluated as Near Threatened .

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