Home range, habitat use and roost-site selection by lowland female Siamese fireback Lophura diardi in northeastern Thailand

Understanding the habitat requirements of threatened species is essential for developing effective conservation and habitat management plans. The Siamese fireback (Lophura diardi), a lowland pheasant species found in mainland Southeast Asia, has mostly been studied in its areas of range expansion in submontane forests. However, there is limited information on the species' ranging behaviour and habitat use in their lowland habitat. We investigated the ranging behaviour, patterns of habitat use, and roost site selection using radio telemetry in a small and well-protected lowland forest in northeastern Thailand. The home range size was slightly larger during the non-breeding season (26.4 +/- 3.9 SE ha) than during the breeding season (20.8 +/- 2.3 SE ha). The birds selected areas with high free density at 3-5 m height, sparse tree coverage at 0.5-3 m height and high climber density in proximity to water sources. In addition, the Siamese fireback appeared to prefer roost sites on steeper slopes with less canopy cover, presumably to facilitate escape by flushing during attempted predation. Our results provide the first ranging ecology information on lowland Lophura species in their typical habitat which can be used as the basis for further research of other cryptic Lophura species in Southeast Asia.