Himalayan monal

Male Himalayan Monal

         Introduction of Himalayan Monal

       The Himalayan Monal  ( Scientific Name : Lophophorus impejanus) belongs to the Order: Galliformesis and Family: Phasianidaealso regionally known as the Impeyan Monal or Impeyan Pheasant. Himalayan Monal is the national bird of Nepal and the state bird of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh in India.

             How to identify Himalayan Monal

       Himalayan Monal are  the most beautiful pheasants due to their striking metallic-colored plumage. Average length is 2.3 feet and the weight of males and females range between 4.4 and 5.2 lbs (1980 gram - 2 380 gram respectively). Females generally slightly smaller and lighter than male.
                Male Himalayan Monal
      The male’s impressive display features bowing and vigorous waving of the rufous tail, but it is the Male has the iridescent plumage on the wings and neck. They are called "nine-colored bird" due to interspersing mix of metallic colors of green, purple, red and blue.
      The adult male has a long, metallic-green crest, much like a peacock, changeable reddish copper on the back and sides of the neck and a prominent white back and rump while in flight. The tail feathers are uniformly rufous being darker towards the tips.
      The males have a large white patch on the rump. The color of breast and underparts are black and the tail is copper. The male also has a bare patch of turquoise blue skin around the eye.
                Female Himalayan Monal
      Females are quite duller than the males. Upper parts of female monal are covered with mottled brownish-black feathers. Throat of female is white  and crest is also shorter than male. The lower tail coverts of females are white, barred with black and rufous. Females also have the blue patch around the eyes.
      Markings of immature birds are not distinctive  and resemble females but young males are larger and they have black feathers on the neck and breast.

Female Himalayan Monal

            Habits and Habitats

       Himalayan Monal prefer  cool upper temperate coniferous or mixed forests resplendent with rhododendron and bamboo with open grassy slopes, cliffs and alpine meadows. It is a high-altitude bird and found mostly at 9,000 to 10,000 ft elevations.
       During the summer, they ventures above the tree-line to wander on the grassy slopes. In winters, they found in lower altitudes. These pheasants exhibit great tolerance to snow. Altitudinal migration are seen in this  bird. They move down at about  6,500 feet in winter and goes up to 16,000 feet in the summer. Generally, they tend to form large coveys and roost in a group. But in breeding season they are usually seen in pairs. which is from April to August. are found single or in pairs,  Himalayan monal have a shrill whistle, sometimes described as curlew-like.
                     Food
       They forage throughout the day, and feed on various types of seeds, tubers, shoots, berries, terrestrial insects and their larvae.They are great diggers, and use their heavy bills to root out tubers and subterranean insects.
                    Call
       Call of Himalayan monal is like a shrill whistle, sometimes described as curlew-like.
                    Distribution
       They are endemic to the Himalayas, eastern Afghanistan to western China. They are also found  in Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Burma. In India, they found in Himalayan, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

              Breeding and Nesting

       They start breeding in their second year. Breeding season  is from late April to August. The nest is a simple scrape in the ground or a hole in a rock face. female lays 2 to 5 eggs. Eggs are white or dirty white, with brown spots and paler appearance. Incubation period is between 26 to 29 days. Only the female  incubates these eggs. Male give  guard throughout the incubation period and until fledging to protect the eggs and chicks from predators. The young become  independent after six months.