Himalayan monal

Description

It is a relatively large-sized landfowl, 24-30 in long and weighing 3-5 lb. The adult male has multicoloured plumage throughout, while the female, as in other landfowl, is more subdued in colour. Notable features in the male include a long, metallic green crest, coppery feathers on the back and neck, and a prominent white rump that is most visible when the bird is in flight. The male's tail feathers are uniformly rufous, darkening towards the tips, whereas the female's lower tail coverts are white, barred with black and red. The female has a prominent white patch on the throat and a white stripe on the tail. The first-year male and the juvenile resemble the female, but the first-year male is larger and the juvenile is less distinctly marked.

Distribution and habitat

The Himalayan monal's native range extends from Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Himalayas in Nepal, India, southern Tibet and Bhutan. In Pakistan, it is most common in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and has also been recorded in Kaghan, Palas Valley and Azad Kashmir. In India, it has been recorded throughout the Indian Himalayan Region from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. It lives in upper temperate oak-conifer forests interspersed with open grassy slopes, cliffs and alpine meadows between 2400 and, where it is most common between 2700 and. It descends to 2000 m in the winter. It tolerates snow and digs through it to obtain plant roots and invertebrate prey.

Behaviour and ecology

The diet of the Himalayan monal consists primarily of tubers, nuts, tender leaves, shoots, insects and other invertebrates. It digs in snow for shoots and invertebrates. Plant matter made up a large part of the diet, although invertebrate matter was also present in low percentages.

Conservation

In some areas, the Himalayan monal is threatened due to poaching and other anthropogenic factors. In the western Himalayas, the population responded negatively to human disturbance involving hydroelectric power development. It is not considered endangered in Pakistan and can be easily located. In some areas, the population density of the species is as high as five pairs per square mile. The main threat to the species is poaching, as the crest is valuable. It is thought to bring status to its wearer and is a symbol of authority.

References

References

1. BirdLife International. (2016). "''Lophophorus impejanus''".
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3. (2012). "सबसे सुंदर पंछियों में से एक मोनाल".
4. "Himalayan Monal {{!}} Sacramento Zoo".
5. "Himalayan Monal". Wildlife of Pakistan.
6. (2021-06-08). "Sclater's Monal and Himalayan Monal sighted in Arunachal's Upper Siang". EastMojo.
7. "Himalayan Monal - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio".
8. (2013). "Diet of threatened Pheasant species in Himalayas, India – A faecal analysis approach". Ecologia Balkanica.
9. (2011). "Influence of human disturbance on the abundance of Himalayan Pheasant (Aves, Galliformes) in the temperate forest of Western Himalaya, India". Vestnik Zoologii.