Rare creature named after ‘hundred-eyed giant’ spotted showing off at Thai park
In a forest of southern Thailand, a rare creature walked into a sunlit clearing and approached a potential mate. The hopeful animal put on a “remarkable” courting display — and a nearby trail camera captured its every movement.
The dramatic footage shocked and excited wildlife officials.
Wildlife rangers set up a trail camera in a forest clearing of Kathun Wildlife Sanctuary as part of their routine patrols, Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said in a May 14 Facebook post.
When they returned to the site and checked the camera’s footage, what they saw left them stunned: The trail camera had recorded the rare sight of a male great argus, a type of pheasant, showing off to a female.
A 30-second video shows the male great argus approach the female, spread its wings in front of her and shake its feathers. A soft ruffling sound can be heard. The male repeats this behavior a few times before walking and then running around the female.
The May 8 video shows the male bird’s feathers gracefully trailing out behind him as he circles the female. The bird stops on the other side of the female and fans his wings again, this time almost directly facing the camera before the clip ends.
The great argus is an at-risk species with an elaborate pattern of eyespots on its tail feathers, according to Thai National Parks. Because of this feather pattern, the bird was named after “Argus, a hundred-eyed giant in Greek mythology.”
“Though the great argus is not as colorful as other pheasants, its (courting) display surely ranks among the most remarkable,” park officials said. This display includes the male bird clearing a spot to dance and calling loudly to attract a female.
Kathun Wildlife Sanctuary shared several more photos of a great argus in a May 13 Facebook post. The photos, taken between May 9 and 13, show the pheasant in the same forest clearing, sometimes standing still and sometimes spreading its wings.
Seen up close, the male great argus has a bright, royal blue head with a white beak and white mohawk-like hair. Its body has a darker brown coloring with speckles of white throughout, extending into long tail feathers.
Officials implied that the photos and video show the same pheasant but did not say so explicitly. The species’s population is declining and, in 2023, Kathun Wildlife Sanctuary officials estimated the park had less than two dozen great argus birds.
Wildlife officials praised the recent great argus sightings as a positive sign for the species and the surrounding sanctuary.
Kathun Wildlife Sanctuary is in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, a roughly 460-mile drive south from Bangkok.
Google Translate and GPT Translate were used to translate the Facebook posts from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and Kathun Wildlife Sanctuary.
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Rare creature named after ‘hundred-eyed giant’ spotted showing off at Thai park."
