Himalayan monal [1] ( lat. Lophophorus impejanus ) is a bird of the pheasant family.
| Himalayan monal |
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| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
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| International scientific name |
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Lophophorus impejanus Latham , 1790 |
| Area |
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| Security status |
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Least ConcernedIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 22679182 |
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Content
The Himalayan monal has a massive, awkward figure with strong legs, a short tail and a massive beak. The plumage of the male's plumage shimmers with green, red, purple and blue, white tail, copper tail on top and black on the bottom, crest golden. The plumage of the female is brown with light stripes and brown in color with black transverse lines, the throat is white. Birds of both sexes have a blue peri-ocular ring . The male reaches a length of 70 cm, of which 23 cm falls on the tail, the female is somewhat smaller. In contrast to the male, the female has no crest.
The Himalayan monal inhabits mountain forests with oaks, pines and rhododendrons and steep gentle slopes with grass cover at an altitude of 2,500 to 5,000 m above sea level in the Himalayas , from eastern Afghanistan to the eastern border of Bhutan and in the regions of Tibet . With high snow cover, it descends to lower mountain heights.
The Himalayan monal eats roots, tubers, shoots, acorns and berries, as well as insects and their larvae, which he digs out of the ground like a scoop of beak. Birds often look for food in groups of 3-4 individuals of the same sex. In winter, larger groups are found in climatic favorable territories.
egg
Lophophorus impejanus -
Toulouse Museum During the mating season, the male with loud calls tries to attract the female. During the ritual of mating, the male chokes, proudly steps around and whirls around the female with an elongated neck, a trembling crest and a drooping wing. Sometimes a rooster offers the chicken also a small stone or food. The male leaves the chicken when it starts to nest in order to mate again. In clutch from 4 to 6 white eggs with red-brown spots. The nest is a hole filled with leaves, moss and straw. Hatching lasts 27 days.
Himalayan monal is the national bird of Nepal and the official bird of the Indian state of Uttarakhand .
- ↑ Boehme R. L. , Flint V. E. The Bilingual Dictionary of Animal Names. Birds. Latin, Russian, English, German, French / Ed. ed. Acad. V. E. Sokolova . - M .: Rus. lang., "RUSSO", 1994. - S. 61. - 2030 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00643-0 .
- Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Vögel. Dorling Kindersly Limited, London 1993,2000, ISBN 3-8310-0785-3
- Bryan Richard: Vögel. Parragon, Bath, ISBN 1-4054-5506-3
