The status of this pheasant is still fairly secure, although its cousin the Chinese Monal is classified as threatened due to poaching and other anthropogenic factors. This species is considered stable throughout much of its range, but may have been eliminated in Afghanistan. Outside that season, they tend to form large coveys and involve in communal roosting. They are usually seen in pairs during the breeding season, which is from April to August. These pheasants exhibit great tolerance to snow and are often seen digging in it foraging for food They seem to exhibit clear and fluctuating altitudinal migration moving down as low as 6,500 feet in winter and up to 16,000 feet in the summer. These pheasants prefer cool upper temperate oak-conifer forests interspersed with open grassy slopes, cliffs and alpine meadows mostly at 9,000 to 10,000 ft elevations. There is also a report of its occurrence in Myanmar. They can be found in Bhutan and countries of Pakistan, India (states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh), Nepal, and Southern Tibet. They are endemic to the Himalayas, eastern Afghanistan to western China. The Himalayan Monal Pheasant ( Lophophorus impejanus) is also regionally known as the Impeyan Monal or Impeyan Pheasant. 2016.Keeping and Breeding the Himalayan Monal Pheasant The legal status of this species in Nepal is Protected (Appendix I) under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973 and Appendix I in CITES law.įor more Information:- Inskipp et al. The bird is Least Concern (LC) according to IUCN Global Red list category but the regional IUCN status is Near Threatened (NT) for Nepal. The world population is unknown but the Nepal population is estimated between 35 individuals. Hunting and trapping by shepherds and poachers during and after monsoon cannot be ignored. The main threats to the species arise from hunting and trapping for local consumption especially during winter, when the bird descends to lower altitudes, closer to human habitations. This bird is reported from all Himalayan protected areas: Makalu Barun, Sagarmatha, Langtang, Shey Phoksundo, Khaptad and Rara National Parks Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve Kanchenjungha, Gaurishankar, Manaslu, Annapurna and Api Nampa Conservation Areas.
In Nepal it is fairly common widespread resident subject to vertical movements between from 3300-4750m in summer and down to 2500m in winter. Himalayan Monal is native to Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. The nest is a simple scrape, often under the shelter of a bush, a rock, or in the hole of some large tree. Incubation period is 28 days (but some time 26-29 days). Eggs are laid in rudimentary nests on ground during May-June, generally under boulders and are 4-6 (sometime 2-3) in number. The bird is usually seen digging for tubers and roots, which seem to form their main diet in addition to grass roots and seeds, berries, mosses, insects and grubs.
Terrestrial insects and tubers forms are the chief food. A dozen of cocks can be seen digging under the trees and open lands in the early morning. It digs for tubers with powerful bill, often remaining in one spot for half an hour or more. When flushed, the birds take to wing emitting a loud call sounding like pi-pi-pi. The bird is usually quite shy and flushes at a considerable distance. The species is reported to be polygamous males can be seen with more than one female. The species prefers alpine and sub-alpine areas in steep grassy and open rocky slopes and the adjacent forest during summer and descends to lower altitudes in rhododendron forest during winter, especially in times of heavy snow fall. Himalayan Monal / Impeyan Pheasant ( Lophophorus impejanus) belongs to Galliformes order and Phasianidae family.
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