Himalayan monal pheasant size Patch#The female has a prominent white patch on the throat and a white strip on the tail. The tail feathers of the male are uniformly rufous, becoming darker towards the tips, whereas the lower tail coverts of females are white, barred with black and red. 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 adult male has multicoloured plumage throughout, while the female, as in other pheasants, is dull in colour. The male weighs up to 2380 grams and the female 2150. However, studies have shown that the male Himalayan monal of northwestern India lacks the white rump of other Himalayan monals, and it has more green on the breast, indicating the possibility of a second subspecies. Traditionally, the Himalayan monal has been classified as monophyletic. The male has a long, metallic green crest, coppery feathers on the back and neck, and a prominent white rump most noticeable when the bird is in flight. Adult males of the species are multicolored throughout, while females are more subdued in color. It was also the state bird of Himachal Pradesh, until 2007. The male weighs 2,380 grams (84 oz) and the female 2,150 grams (76 oz). It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as Danphe, and state bird of Uttarakhand India, where it is known as Monal. We spent at least half an hour ogling at them till one of them finally took flight and the other one moved away to a higher hillock before disappearing beyond the mountains.T he Himalayan monal ( Lophophorus impejanus ), also known as the Impeyan monal, Impeyan pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. We applied the same tactics again and this time they were even less concerned by the voyeuristic intruders. What is better than a Monal? A pair of them!Īfter some time, as we were returning, luck smiled again. I tried but did not get a good shot of it in flight. The bird was reasonably tolerant but after a point it lost patience and flew away. The head is bright green, with blue-ringed eyes and a reddish-brown neck. Males feature magnificent metallic green, purple, red, and blue colours. They range in length from 63 to 72 centimetres and weigh between two and three kg. I clicked pictures after every step and the images become gradually bigger and clearer till it reached a point where I could publish them without embarrassing myself. The Himalayan Monal belongs to the pheasant family. It was not easy as it was just an open meadow without anything to hide behind. In Himachal Pradesh, NW India, found above 3000 m in DecJan, descending to c. The light was much better and we summoned every guerrilla tactics learnt from the movies to get as close to it as possible without alarming it. Believed to show largest altitudinal movement of all Himalayan pheasants. The morning was better and we were considering a climb to Chandrashila but the first thing we noticed en route was another Monal. It was a disappointing day and at night I dreamt of one of them showing me its middle feather. We saw a couple fly away but there was not enough to click. However, after a while the mist subsided and we reached the edge of the plain, beyond which there was a deep, vertigo-inducing gorge. The 200mm zoom was just not enough and soon a thick veil of mist obliterated whatever view was remaining. On the evening of the first day, I noticed one, roaming around on the open space on the edge from the Tungnath temple. But the lodge owner mentioned the bird and he even mentioned musk deer although that was nowhere to be seen. I was there in Chopta for the rhododendrons rather than the Monal. Originally I did not have much clue about the bird. There is of course the usual pressure of hunting and habitat loss but I was glad to discover that it is not really considered endangered… not yet at least. It can fly, but I guess it is not built for long hauls. That is why if it is around, you can spot it easily and can get a photograph or two even with substandard equipment as I did. It is delightfully colourful and also of reasonably large size. The Himalayan Monal is a pheasant endemic to the Himalayan region. As their name suggests, they come from the. The brilliant metallic plumage of greens, blues, blacks, and purples more than compensate for its squat, heavy shape and long curved bill. But as of now, I can no longer resist sharing this story of epic stalking. The Himalayan Monal, or Impeyan Pheasant, with its heavy body shape is very different from any of the other pheasant species. Detailed travelogue regarding the place will come later. Although there was not enough time, it was an experience worth its time. Our first day at Chopta and Tungnath was gloomy.
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