Bulwer's Pheasant Lophura bulweri. Original artwork from Astonishing animals.

2003.
Watercolour and gouache on Arches paper, 720 x 565mm, mounted but not framed, signed and dated by artist.

Page 23 (Lophura bulweri)
Wherever they have escaped the chainsaw, the primeval forests of Borneo cast such a dense shadow that below the canopy lies a realm of eternal, gloomy twilight, So, if you live
there, what better way to attract a mate than with a brilliant white disc, shimmering like a sun in the leaf-littered underworld? Bulwer's pheasant, a very large and handsome bird found only on Borneo, uses just this strategy. But the pheasants are distributed widely in the forest, so it is tricky to ensure that a female is close enough to see the disc. To initially attract a prospective mate, throughout the mating season the male utters a sharp, penetrating cry- like a shrill scream. At other times, perhaps for fear of attracting clouded leopards or other predators, he satisfies himself with a metallic hook kook, or nervous kak kak.
As the female approaches she sees the most extraordinary sight, a side-on view of his great white disc of a tail, glowing like the full moon in the dark of the forest. When he sees her, the male falls silent, so that the scratching sound of the small spines on the bottom of his tail can be heard as they scrape on dead leaves. Perhaps this slight noise reminds her of the clatter of little bird-feet in the forest litter, or the sound of chicks feeding. Whatever the case, she finds the entire display irresistible and soon little Bulwer's pheasants are incubating in their eggs. Just why the male possesses such a sinister looking mask, however, remains a mystery.