CONSERVATION OF THE CRESTED ARGUS (RHEINARDIA OCELLATA OCELLATA) AT SAIGON ZOO & BOTANICAL GARDENS

When the “stars of the forest” are in danger The Crested Argus is far more than a beautiful bird with a clear, elegant call. It is a remarkable endemic treasure of Southeast Asia, found only in Vietnam and Laos. The species was first named Argus ocellatus by Elliot in 1871, based on a large number of pheasant feathers of unknown origin preserved at the Paris Museum. Earlier, between 1835 and 1859, Verriaux had also used the name Argus ocellatus in manuscript form (according to Delacour, 1951). It was not until 1879 to 1881, when two skins of the Crested Argus collected by Commander Rheinart and the Governor of Cochinchina were confirmed to have originated from Vietnam, that the species’ true geographic origin was officially recognized. The genus Rheinardia was later established in 1882 by Maingonnat (G.W.H. Davison et al., 2020).