argus pheasant

British  

noun

1. either of two pheasants, Argusianus argus (great argus) or Rheinardia ocellata (crested argus), occurring in SE Asia and Indonesia. The males have very long tails marked with eyelike spots

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Example Sentences

Darwin was acutely aware of this and admired the modelling of the ocelli on the argus pheasant tail feathers as "more like a work of art than of nature".

From The Guardian • Feb. 10, 2012

Plumage displays are indulged in by turkeys, the blue bird of paradise, the greater and lesser birds of paradise, the sage grouse and pinnated grouse, ruffed grouse, golden pheasant and argus pheasant.

From The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals A Book of Personal Observations by Hornaday, William Temple

Much more unusual was the call of some lonely argus pheasant or a crow.

From Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917 by Lumholtz, Carl

As we anchored for the night I heard for the first time, from the hills that rose near by, the loud defiant cry of the argus pheasant.

From Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917 by Lumholtz, Carl

The extreme silence was interrupted only once, by the defiant cry of an argus pheasant.

From Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917 by Lumholtz, Carl