I have just returned from Sumatra where I spent a week birding Mount Kerinci and the Tapan Road with Chris Collins. During our visits to the Tapan Road were were lucky enough to seen one or more Bronze-tailed Peacock-pheasants (a Sumatran endemic, which is often heard but is very hard to see), and I was able to secure the image above. The bird was in a gully, feeding on figs that had fallen from an adjacent tree in heavy fruit. Increadibly we found this bird because our local guide took me to look into the gully to show me where he had seen a Bronze-tailed Peacock-pheasant in the past (he'd only ever seen one about two years ago, and it was in this exact spot).
Is this the first ever photo of a wild Bronze-tailed Peacock Pheasant? A Google search finds only images of the species in captivity.
This was the best place we found on the Tapan Road, and from this single location we saw the Peacock-pheasant several times, a pair of Rhinoceros Hornbills, a pair of Wreathed Hornbills and more than 50 Sumatran Green Pigeons feeding in the fruiting tree. There were also two Graceful Pittas calling up the slope behind us!
I will publish a full report about our trip soon.
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