The Great Argus is a large pheasant of Indo-Malayan lowland forests. Males have exceptionally long tail feathers.
Eye-like spots mark the male’s wings and tail. The National Aviary describes his tail feathers as the longest of any wild bird.
Male Great Argus in Sumatra concentrate their movements around display grounds and have several centres of activity. A display ground may lie near the edge or middle of a male’s range; neighbouring males overlap relatively little.
Researchers tracked six adult males and one subadult at Way Canguk from September to November 2001. Three-month ranges covered 7–32 hectares. The subadult had no display ground and ranged over roughly twice the area of the widest-ranging adult.
Adults used undisturbed forest with large trees particularly often. The researchers suggested that attending and maintaining display sites, alongside feeding needs, helps shape male movements.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The 2009 paper suggests that habitat specialization and restricted movement may limit colonisation of forest fragments. Conserving occupied intact forest and reducing forest loss and degradation are conservation priorities.