Bornean crested fireback

The Bornean crested fireback (Lophura ignita) is a medium-sized forest pheasant from Borneo and the Bangka Belitung Islands.[2] It is the type species of the genus Lophura. Prior to 2023, it was referred to as simply the crested fireback as the Malayan crested fireback (L. rufa) was lumped with this species, though both have since been split.[3]

Bornean crested fireback
Male
Female at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Genus:	Lophura
Species:	L. ignita
Binomial name
Lophura ignita (Shaw, 1798)
Synonyms
Phasianus ignitus Shaw, 1797

Males are up to 70 cm long with a peacock-like dark crest, bluish black plumage, reddish brown rump, black outer tail feathers, red iris and bare blue facial skin. The female is a brown bird with short crest, blue facial skin and spotted black-and-white below.[2]

There are two subspecies; the subspecies from Borneo and Bangka Island, L. i. ignita (lesser Bornean crested fireback) and L. i. nobilis (greater Bornean crested fireback), have brown central tail feathers, whitish legs and are rufous below.[3] Prior to 2014, the Malayan crested fireback was lumped with this species as a subspecies by BirdLife International, while the International Ornithological Congress split both species in 2023 based on substantial plumage differences. The female of L. i ignita and L. i. nobilis have a dark, blackish tail and whitish legs, while female of L. i.a rufa has a chestnut brown tail and red legs. Delacour's crested fireback (L. i. macartneyi) was formerly also considered a subspecies, but as specimens are variable, the Handbook of Birds of the World regards it as a hybrid swarm between rufa and a possible relictual or introduced population of ignita. In 2023 the IOC lumped macartneyi with rufa for this reason.[3]

The diet consists mainly of plants, fruits and small animals. The female usually lays between four and eight creamy white eggs.

Due to ongoing habitat loss and overhunting in some areas, the crested fireback is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]