The Congo Peafowl, Afropavo congensis, is the only member of the monotypic (one single species) genus Afropavo.
Very little is known about this species, as 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.
Description
The male is a large, up to 28 inches (~70cm) long. His plumage is deep blue with metallic green and violet tinge. It has a bare red neck skin, grey feet, black tail of fourteen rectrices (= the long flight feathers of the tail) and adorned with vertical white elongated hair-like feathers on its crown.
The female is generally a chestnut brown bird with black abdomen, metallic green back and 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 species.
Distribution / Habitat
Inhabits and endemic to lowland rainforests of Congo River Basin in central Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Due to ongoing habitat lost, small population and hunted in some areas, the Congo Peafowl is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Diet
The diet consists mainly of fruits and invertebrates (= animals without internal skeleton, such as larvae, earthworms, millipedes, snails, spiders).
Breeding / Nesting
The male has a similar tail feather display to other peacocks, fanning its tail in this case though. Male is monogamous, though information from the wild needed.
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