Siamese fireback
Species of bird
The Siamese fireback (Lophura diardi), also known as Diard's fireback, is a fairly large, approximately 80 cm (31 in) long, pheasant. The male has a grey plumage with an extensive facial caruncle, crimson legs and feet, ornamental black crest feathers, reddish brown iris and long curved blackish tail. The female is a brown bird with blackish wings and tail feathers.
The Siamese fireback is distributed to the lowland and evergreen forests of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam in Southeast Asia. However, in June 2025, the bird was spotted naturally in the forest area of Ranikhet, a popular tourist destination in Uttarakhand, India. This species is also designated as Thailand's national bird. The female usually lays between four and eight rosy eggs.
01Naming
The scientific name commemorates the French naturalist Pierre-Médard Diard.
This species of pheasant has a common name in Thai Kai Fah Phaya Lo (Thai: ไก่ฟ้าพญาลอ; Lord Lo's pheasant), according to Thai folk literature, Lilit Phra Lo where Phra Lo, the protagonist, is charmed by following the pheasant until he meets Phra Phuean and Phra Phaeng, the two sisters and later his lovers.
02Status
Due to habitat loss and over-hunting in some areas, the Siamese fireback was evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List; however, it is now Least Concern.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Siamese fireback”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Siamese-fireback-Lophura-diardi-khao-yai-national-park.jpg by Rushenb, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lophura diardi -Florida, USA -captive-8a (2).jpg by cuatrok77 hernandez, CC BY 2.0
- Lophura diardi MHNT.jpg by Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
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