Himalayan Monal

About Himalayan Monal

• The Himalayan monal is a large, ground-dwelling pheasant.
  • Scientific Name: Its scientific name is Lophophorus impejanus.
  • Family: It belongs to the pheasant family, Phasianidae.
  • Local Name: It is called Danfe in the Nepali language.
• Cultural importance: It is the national bird of Nepal and  the state bird of Uttarakhand.
• Habitat: It lives in upper temperate conifer and oak forests with open grasslands at about 2,400–4,500 m.
• Distribution: It is found from eastern Afghanistan through the Himalayas to China, including India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Myanmar.
• Key Features:
  • Appearance: It shows high sexual dimorphism.
    • Males have multi-coloured plumage and a long green metallic crest,
    • while females have a pale blue eye patch, white throat and streaky brown body.
  • Feeding: It digs into the ground and snow for leaves, shoots, tubers, seeds and insects.
  • Altitudinal Movement: It moves to higher elevations in summer for breeding and moves down in winter during heavy snowfall.
  • Courtship: Males perform dance-like courtship displays and show their colourful plumage and bright white back patch.
  • Communication: It has a range of calls used for purposes such as raising an alarm and calling potential mates.
• Threats:
  • Habitat loss
  • Hunting
  • Pollution
  • Human-made noise
  • Climate change
• Conservation Status 
  • IUCN Status: Least Concern (LC)
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule-I