The Germain's peacock-pheasant is a pheasant in the family Phasianidae endemic to Indochina. The name commemorates the French colonial army's veterinary surgeon Louis Rodolphe Germain.
Region
Indochina (Vietnam and Cambodia)
Typical Environment
Occurs mainly in lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen forests with dense understory and bamboo thickets. It favors mature forest mosaics near streams and areas with thick leaf litter for foraging. The species can persist in lightly logged secondary forest but avoids heavily disturbed sites. It is largely terrestrial, roosting low and relying on concealment rather than long flights.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Germain's peacock-pheasant is a shy, ground-dwelling bird of lowland evergreen forests in Indochina, named after French veterinary surgeon Louis Rodolphe Germain. Males fan their tails to display striking blue‑green eye-spots during courtship. The species is sensitive to forest fragmentation and hunting pressure. It is most often detected by its low, resonant calls rather than seen.
Temperament
shy and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief low flights
Social Behavior
Primarily solitary or in pairs, keeping to dense understory cover. Males perform lateral displays, fanning the tail to show ocelli to females. Nests are on or near the ground, with the female incubating and the male often remaining nearby. Territorial calling is most common at dawn and dusk.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include low, resonant hoots and soft booming notes that carry through forest understory. Calls are typically repeated in slow series, especially at dawn. Alarm notes are short, harsh clucks from cover.
Plumage
Finely mottled brown and grey body with multiple iridescent blue‑green ocelli on the wing coverts and upper tail coverts; feathers appear scaled. Males have a short erectile crest and more pronounced, shimmering eye-spots; females are duller with fewer and smaller ocelli.
Diet
Feeds on seeds, fallen fruits, and various invertebrates such as ants, termites, beetles, and small snails. It scratches through leaf litter to uncover prey and picks soft fruits from the ground. Opportunistically consumes tender shoots and small tubers.
Preferred Environment
Forages on the forest floor in dense understory and bamboo tangles where cover is close by. Often selects edges of trails, stream margins, and light gaps where litter is deep and invertebrate activity is high.
