Rare creature — with feathers of ‘fire’ — captured on trail camera in Malaysia. See it
From the shapeless bulbous blobfish to the white, fuzzy-armed yeti crab, some animals live up to their name.
The same is true for the Malay Crestless Fireback.
Males of the pheasant species, native to southeast Asia, have dark bodies and brightly colored tail feathers, almost like their backs have been set on fire.
Their beautiful plumage has put them at risk, making them a rare site in the forests and valleys of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Recently, a trail camera set up in a Malaysia reserve captured one of the rare, colorful creatures during surveys, according to a study published March 26 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Threatened Taxa.
“In this study, seven camera trap units were installed at a spacing of (1.2 miles) in Ulu Sat (Forest Reserve). … Camera traps were placed on trees bordering animal paths at a height of approximately (20 inches) above the ground to permit the detection of medium and large-sized mammals,” according to the study.
The cameras didn’t just catch mammals, and in May 2023, one camera trap triggered four times as a bopping, blue and red head came into frame, according to the study.
The head was followed by bright yellowish-orange tail feathers, easily identifiable as the fireback.
“A photo of an adult male Malay Crestless Fireback (Lophura erythrophthalma) in the lowland forest was recorded on … flat land with medium to large trees separated from each other (less dense) and dim because they are protected by the tree canopy,” researchers said.
None of the photos captured the animal in its entirety, according to the study, but enough of the animal was included to see the “fine vermiculation on the wings, orange (flame) back, purple back, and pale orange tail.”
The sighting is “very important,” researchers said, following the reclassification of the species in 2021 as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
“This is because the habitat loss factor in the range of this species is rapid and as a species that is completely dependent on ground-level forests,” researchers said. “Combining all these threats, the population of (Malay Crestless Firebacks) is showing a faster decline pattern and if it is not contained and restored early it may be at great risk of extinction.”
Dozens of photos were taken over the course of the survey, but there was only one solid independent image of the bird, according to the study. This suggests while present in the reserve, they are likely “relatively rare.”
The same camera trap also snapped photos of muntjacs, or common barking deer; wild boar; and white-thighed surili, a small primate species listed as “near threatened,” according to the IUCN Red List.
The Ulu Sat Forest Reserve is in the northern peninsula of Malaysia, just south of the border of Thailand.
The research team includes Ainun Hidayah Wahad, Wan Hafizin Idzni Wan Mohammad Hizam, Muhammad Hamirul Shah Ab Razak, Aainaa Amir, Kamarul Hambali, Hazizi Husain, Mohd Saupi Abdullah, Ehwan Ngadi, Mohamad Arif Iskandar Abdul Wahab and Asrulsani Jambari.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 7:16 AM with the headline "Rare creature — with feathers of ‘fire’ — captured on trail camera in Malaysia. See it."
