![]() A distinct blue patch around the eyes characterises the species. The tail feathers of the male bird are consistently metallic reddish-brown coloured, ending at a darker shade towards the tips. With a white back and black underparts, the bird exposes a prominent white patch on its rump when in flight. The Himalayan Monal is also known as the ‘nine-coloured bird’ owing to the iridescent metallic-coloured plumage on the neck and wings of the adult male bird. The average female of the species is a tad smaller and lighter than its male counterpart. An average bird would measure to around 70 cm in length and between 4.4-5.2 lbs in weight, and it is considered to be a somewhat large bird. The Himalayan Monal is one of the most stunning pheasants due to its distinctive iridescent metallic-coloured plumage. At other times they might also be spotted in small groups, or large conveys, while practicing communal roosting. These pheasants usually roam single or in pairs, especially during their breeding season between April and August. The shrill curlew-like whistle of the Himalayan Monal is quite distinctive. Their tolerance to the snow is an added bonus to their lifestyle. These pheasants have heavy bills which they expertly use for digging out subterranean insects and tubers from the slopes as well. The Himalayan Monal spends most of its day foraging for insects, berries, shoots, and seeds. ( Koshy Koshy / Flickr) Behaviour of the Himalayan monal In general they maintain an altitude between 2,000 and 4,500m above the sea level. In the summers they move up to 16,000ft, wandering the grassy slopes above the tree-line. In the winter months they come down to 6,500ft. ![]() The Himalayan Monal is a high-altitude bird that practices altitudinal migration as the weather changes. Their preferred habitat also features rolling grassy slopes and cliffs, and an extensive understory of bamboo and rhododendron. It can fly, but I guess it is not built for long hauls. These pheasants are typically found residing in the oak-conifer forests of cool upper temperate regions, such as the Himalayan hills. The Himalayan Monal is a pheasant endemic to the Himalayan region. As a result, they have been included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2016), albeit as a species of ‘Least Concern’ (LC). The bird is almost extinct in Afghanistan, and their numbers are steadily reducing in other areas due to various anthropological factors. These birds are endemic to a vast belt including, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, India (states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh), and even Myanmar. The scientific name of the bird is Lophophorus impejanus and it belongs to the Phasianidae family of the Galliformes order. The Himalayan Monal, also known as the Impeyan Pheasant or Impeyan Monal, is a variety of pheasant found in the hilly forests of the Himalayan region. The main threat to the species is poaching, as the crest is valuable.A male Himalayan Monal. In some areas, the population density of the species is as high as five pairs per square mile. The pheasant is not considered endangered in Pakistan and can be easily located. The male monal was under hunting pressure in Himachal Pradesh, where the crest feather was used to decorate men's hats, until 1982, when hunting was banned in the state. In the western Himalayas, the local monal population responded negatively to human disturbance involving hydroelectric power development. ![]() In some areas, the species is threatened due to poaching and other anthropogenic factors. It tolerates snow and digs through it to obtain plant roots and invertebrate prey. It lives in upper temperate oak-conifer forests interspersed with open grassy slopes, cliffs and alpine meadows between 24 meters, where it is most common between 27 meters. ![]() In Pakistan, it is most common in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and has also been recorded in Kaghan, Palas Valley, Kashmir. The Himalayan monal's native range extends from Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Himalayas in India, Nepal, southern Tibet, and Bhutan. Decked out in all the colors of the rainbow, the male is the image of iridescence green crested head, red neck, green shoulders, blue back, orange tail, and black underparts. However, studies have shown that the male Himalayan monal of northwestern India lacks the white rump of other Himalayan monals, and it has more green on the breast, indicating the possibility of a second subspecies. Traditionally, the Himalayan monal has been classified as monophyletic. It was also the state bird of Himachal Pradesh until 2007. It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as the danphe, and state bird of Uttarakhand, India, where it is known as the monal. The Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus), also known as the Impeyan monal and Impeyan pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. ![]()
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