Himalayan Monal

The Himalayan Monal with the scientific name Lophophorus impejanus is a pheasant species falling under the Phasianidae family. They are also called by other names like the Impeyan Monal or Danphe or Impeyan Pheasant. Danphe bird is declared as the National bird of Nepal and the State bird of Uttrakhand state of India.

This species comes under the genus Lophophorus and around two species out of three falling under the same genus is seen in India. The quick classification of Himalayan Monal is as below,

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Galliformes
Family	Phasianidae
Subfamily	Phasianinae
Genus	Lophophorus
Species	Lophophorus impejanus

Physical Characteristics:

Himalayan Monal is a large-sized, stunning colored bird which is 70 to 72 cm in length. The male birds are adorned splendidly with iridescent colored plumage with metallic blue, green, purple and red colors. The head crest of the male is long, wiry and is colored with metallic green.


They possess a metallic brown tail and pale brown wings and a white rump which is visible during the flight. They have a bright green colored head, blue ring around the eyes and the reddish brown colored neck.

At the top of the nape the male bird has a yellow patch which forms the bluish black wings and reddish copper back.The male of northern west Indian species lacks the white rump. The under parts are covered with dark brownish black feathers. The tail feathers are darker at its tip. The males weigh about 1980 to 2380 g. The splendid coloring lacks in female.

Females have dark brown feathers over the whole body. The throat of female is white and has a short crest with spoon shaped feathers. Females are small and shorter with ordinary colors. They possess a white patch on the fore neck and a white strip over the tail. Hen has blue circle around the eyes. The females weigh about 1800 to 2150 g.

Behavior:

The female birds are seen in pairs during the breeding season and in groups during foraging. The males are seen in groups containing two or three birds, during winter they are territorial. During winter, the females form a flock with 20 to 30 birds. Sometimes mixed groups are also seen. They produce various calls which would showcase their attitudes like alarm, aggression, happiness and advertising to a mate.

Food Habits:

They usually dig the hard soil of the mountain or rock to discover the seeds, shoots, tubers, berries, other plant parts, insects and small invertebrates. Like other species of Phasianidae family, this bird possesses a long, curved beak and very strong legs which aids them to make the digging of hard soil feasible. They can dig upto 25 cm deep on hills. The sharp edges on the himalayan monal�s mandible help them in cutting and splitting hard plants. In captivity, they feed on grains, fruit, insects, poultry pellets and vegetables.

Distribution and Habitat:

Himalayan Monal could be spotted at the higher altitudes of the Himalayas. The habitat of this bird varies as the season changes. During the winter they are found in mixed and coniferous forests where trees like bamboo and rhododendrons are present such that it keeps them warm during winter. During the summer season, these birds are seen at the top of the tall trees, on rocky regions and wander on the grassy covered meadows.

They can be seen at an altitude ranging between 2,000 meters to 4,500 meters above the sea level. The range of the bird is from eastern Afghanistan through the Himalayas, covering India states of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, then extends to Nepal, Bhutan and southern Tibet

.The habitats they prefer are upper temperate oak-conifer forests with open grassy slopes, alpine meadows and cliffs. They show tolerance to snow and are noticed to dig through snow for tubers, roots and other parts of the plant and sometimes invertebrates.

Mating and Nesting:

The breeding season of the Himalayan Monal falls during the months of April to August. They use various call to communicate their attraction towards a bird which could be in its foraging group or the intruding ones. The males try to attract the females by the body displays like bobbing the head crest and by fanning their tail feathers. During the breeding season the pairs are seen to be at the higher altitude. The bird starts producing calls for the whole day during this season. The courtship starts once the female is satisfied with the male's display. They mate and start to build nest by scraping the ground.

Around three to five eggs are laid in a clutch. Only the female takes part in incubating the eggs. The males stand guarding the nest throughout the hatching period. The hatching period lasts for about 27 to 30 days. They also play a vital role in securing their chicks from predators. The young ones are born precocial and and cannot care of itself. After six months the young ones becomes independent from their mother and start to search food individually. The mating happens when the juveniles reach the age of two. The immature males at its first year merely looks like a female but will look slightly larger than the females with distinctive markings. The predators of the bird are birds of prey, carnivores and humans.

Threats and conservation:

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has categorized Himalayan Monal as 'Least Concern' since this species is found in wide range and is very common throughout its range. This beautiful bird is slowly being threatened by various factors such as human disturbances like Hydro-electric project development in its range, tree harvesting and poaching.

This bird is being hunted for its meat, plume and crest feather which are used for making ornamental hats. The population is observed to be stable.

They are also listed in the Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) in order to prevent unlicensed export of this species. Also they are prevented from being used as a pet bird. The range of this bird is being protected to avoid this bird hitting the vulnerability threshold.

Interesting facts about Himalayan Monal:

1. Himalayan Monal is the state bird of Uttrakhand.
2. It is considered as the National bird of Nepal.
3. Called by other names like Impeyan Monal which commemorates Lady Mary Impey, the wife of the British chief justice of Bengal, Sir Elijah Impey who first kept the bird in captivity.
4. They are communicative birds raising very loud calls.
5. Their life span in captivity is 10 to 12 years.
6. In Kulu valley and other parts of Himachal Pradesh the plumes of the bird is used for head-dress.