Palawan peacock-pheasant  (Polyplectron napoleonis)

Palawan peacock-pheasant populations are undergoing a rapid decline as a result of habitat destruction, hunting and trade (5). Lowland forests on Palawan have been widely cleared, and although coastal forest remains relatively extensive in the south, illegal logging there is thought to continue (5) (9). Furthermore, logging and mining concessions have been granted for almost all remaining forest on the island (5). By the 1960s, direct exploitation of the Palawan peacock-pheasant was also a growing concern, with large numbers being hunted for food and trapped for live trade to zoos and aviculture enthusiasts, but exports were much reduced by the late 1980s. Nevertheless, the bird continues to be hunted for food and some trade (5) (9).

The entire island was officially made a game reserve in 1983, in which hunting became illegal, but hunting laws are difficult to enforce effectively. This pheasant also occurs in two protected areas on the island, El Nido Marine Reserve and St Paul's Subterranean River National Park (5). Recently, commercial logging activities on the island were suspended by presidential decree, but nearly all the forest land is still leased out to logging operations, and illegal logging evidently continues (9). In the mid-1990s, this striking bird featured on a bilingual environmental awareness poster in the “Only in the Philippines” series, which aimed to encourage people to take pride in and protect their endemic species (5). It is imperative that such public education campaigns are continued to make local people fully aware of the grave future this elegant and stunning bird faces if more isn’t done to protect it and its dwindling habitat.