Sclater's Monal
Lophophorus sclateri
Large terrestrial bird of foothill and montane pine forests with extensive rhododendron ground cover. Male brilliantly colored but oddly vulturine in appearance, with a small peaked head and blue skin around the eye. Appears dark from a distance, with bronzed neck and orange-tipped white tail; closer looks reveal greenish-blue gloss on the wings. Female streaky brown with dark blue eye patch and white-tipped tail. Gives loud, bisyllabic raptor-like screams and babbling shrieks in alarm.
Identification
Sclater's monal is a large, approximately 68 centimetres (27 in) long, monal pheasant. As with other monals, the male is a colourful bird. It has a highly iridescent purplish-green upperparts plumage, short and curly metallic green crown feathers, copper neck, purplish-black throat, white back, blue orbital skin, yellowish-orange bill and brown iris. In the nominate subspecies, the tail is white with a broad chestnut band, while the tail is entirely white in L. s. arunachalensis from western Arunachal Pradesh in India. The crestless female is mostly a dark brown bird with a white throat and tail-tip, dull bluish orbital skin and a pale yellow bill.
Taxonomy
Sclater's monal has three recognized subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Lophophorus sclateri
- Authority
- Jerdon, 1870
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
- Genus
- Lophophorus
Range and habitat
Sclater's monal is distributed to mountain forests of the east Himalayan region, in north-eastern India, south-eastern Tibet and northern Burma, at altitudes of 2,500 to 4,200 metres (8,200 to 13,800 ft).
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Behavior
The diet of the Sclater's monal, like that of other members of the genus Lophophorus, probably consists mainly of tubers, roots, bulbs, arthropods, rodents, seeds and flowers. The female usually lays between three and five eggs. It is not known if the male participates in nest defense, but it is likely.
Conservation
Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size, limited range and overhunting in some areas for food and its feathers, Sclater's monal is evaluated as Vulnerable on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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