The Mountain Peacock-Pheasant is a pheasant of montane forests in the Indomalayan region. It spends time on the forest floor and eats small animals such as insects.
Males and females have different plumage.
Male Mountain Peacock-Pheasants have small eyespots: dark bluish markings above and dark green ones on the tail. Females have smaller, blackish markings and shorter tails. These montane birds of the Malay Peninsula are less elaborately ornamented than several lowland relatives.
A 2001 study compared six peacock-pheasant species as then classified. Researchers sequenced two mitochondrial regions and part of a nuclear gene from blood or feathers to reconstruct relationships.
Mapping plumage onto the inferred tree, the authors proposed that conspicuous ancestral ornamentation had become reduced in the Mountain Peacock-Pheasant lineage. Their reconstruction depicted an evolutionary route towards smaller ornaments alongside routes towards greater elaboration.
IUCN Red List · Near Threatened · Global
The IUCN global assessment of 16 February 2023 lists the species as Near Threatened. A slow decline is suspected from habitat loss and other pressures. Lower-elevation agricultural conversion, tourism development and roads fragment forest; hunting has a more localised impact. Proposed actions include population monitoring and surveys clarifying distribution and habitat requirements.