Himalayan monal

Himalayan monal
Himalayan monal, male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Class:
Aves
Order:
Galliformes
Family:
Phasianidae
Subfamily:
Phasianinae
Genus:
Lophophorus
Binomial name
Lophophorus impejanus
Map showing range of the Himalayan Monal
Range of Lophophorus impejanus

The Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus), also known as the Impeyan monal or pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. Its discoverer, Latham, wrote in his General History of Birds (1821): "[the monal] inhabits India, but is not common, being brought from the hills in the northern parts of Hindustan to Calcutta, as a rarity. Lady Impey attempted, with great prospect of success, to bring some of them to England, but after living on board for two months they caught a disorder from the other poultry, and died".[2]

It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as the danphe (or Danfe),[3][4] and is mentioned frequently in Nepali songs.[5] It is also the state bird of Uttarakhand, India.[6] In Kashmir, it is the state/regional bird of the disputed territory.

Description

Himalayan monal, female

The Himalayan monal is a relatively large-sized pheasant. The males of this species look quite different from the females of the species. The male Himalayan monals have bright and colorful feathers of blue, green, purple, and red. They have a white patch of feathers underneath the base of their tail, but the rest of their underside is black. The males also have a crest (several feathers) on top of their heads. Both the male and female of the species have blue circles of skin around their eyes. The females and the young birds (chicks) have an overall brown appearance. Their feathers also have white and black strips on certain parts. The females have a white throat.[7]

The male chicks look like the females chicks until a little after a year when they begin to become more colorful. Before then you could tell the young male and females apart because of their larger size and black feathers, instead of white feathers, on the throat.[7]

Gallery

  • Female (head)
    Female (head)
  • Male (head)
    Male (head)
  • Museum specimen
    Museum specimen

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International. 2012. Lophophs impejanus. Archived 2013-10-31 at the Wayback Machine In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. Downloaded on 11 June 2013.
  2. ↑ Beebe, William (1918). A monograph of the pheasants. London: Witherby & Co. pp. 145. Available on line in Biodiversity Heritage Library
  3. ↑ "Danphe". Info-Nepal. Info-Nepal. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "Himalayan Monal - Lophophorus impejanus". Sacramento Zoo Birds. Sacramento Zoo. December 2003. Archived from the original (pdf) on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Shrestha, Tej Kumar (2003). Wildlife of Nepal – a study of renewable resources of the Nepal Himalayas. Kathmandu: Tribhuvan University. p. 321. ISBN 99933-59-02-5.
  6. ↑ "Uttarakhand State Signs". uttaraguide.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Himalayan Monal". WhoZoo. Retrieved 15 June 2013.

Other websites

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