1/12/2023 0 Comments Himalayan monal pheasant size![]() ![]() The status of this beautiful pheasant is still fairly secure in many areas. Sexual maturity is not attained until the second year of life. Usually males take no part in the rearing phase.The incubation period lasts some 26-29 days. Clutch sizes in the wild are most commonly of four or five eggs, with three egg clutches also fairly common. The nest is often unlined, although leaves may collect in the hollow and thus form a lining. The nest is a simple scrape, often under the shelter of a bush, a rock, or in the hole of some large tree. Nests are invariably placed in wooded habitats, typically in forests having large trees but not very thick undergrowth. ![]() In India these birds begin nesting primarily in May. Nesting Monals are polygynous largely due to females being gregarious and the pair remains together from mating to incubation. ![]() Besides these ground displays, a display flight is performed of an extended gliding, with the tail fanned and the wings held well above the level of the body with repeated piping call that varies from fairly soft to strident. This part of the display may last up to 2 min, and is usually the climax. The display is normally silent, but the head is sometimes shaken, causing the crest to vibrate and shimmer. In this posture the white back patch is exposed, and head is oriented so that the crest directly points toward the female. The wings are slowly opened and partially closed, and the tail is slowly flicked up and down. Subsequently the male faces the female and lowers its head while standing erect, half-opening the wings, fluffing the neck feathers, and holding the tail high and fanned. He circles the female, leaning toward her and raising the farther wing so that it is visible across his back. When males direct the display toward females they perform the same ceremony, but without feather fluffing, and they also suddenly arch the neck, bringing the crest forward, then call while suddenly raising the head and quickly lowering it again, causing the crest to vibrate violently. The beak is held upright and the birds step slowly and elaborately, occasionally lowering the head, causing the crest to vibrate and shimmer. Males stand very tall, with the feathers of the neck, the mantle, and the abdomen strongly fluffed. The male's display occurs between males with the purpose of establishing dominance. A chuck-chuck call is made when suddenly alarmed. Its function may be that of indicating 'anxiety', and on hearing it other monals would sometimes become alert and utter the same call. This call is an extension of the piping call with the ultimate note extended into a pure tone and repeated at intervals of 1 to 5 second to form the whistle call. The call is a shrill, loud and curlew-like whistle, pitched at slightly higher note in young one’s. The locations are advertised daily by loud calling. Iris dark brown, bill pale horn with a darker upper mandible, the legs and toes pale yellowish. The skin around the eye is blue, feathers of head and crest black with central streaks and edges of rufous yellowish beige, nape same with broader streaks, back and mantle black, with yellowish beige streaks, here and there replaced with white, giving a curious mottled appearance, lower back yellowish beige with crescent black bars, tail coverts yellowish beige with larger bars occupying most of the feathers, visible parts of wing-coverts and secondaries like the back but more mottled, primaries and outer secondaries dark brown, the former mottled, the latter barred with rufous buff on the outer webs, chin, throat and fore-neck white, remainder of lower parts brown, the breast and flanks with dark lines, these more broken and fewer on the abdomen and lower breast, their place being taken by pale central streaks and white shafts lower tail coverts white, barred with black and rufous. Femaleįemales are brown with a square tail with buffy streaks. The colours of all these parts vary greatly. Iris brown, orbital skin and cheeks bright blue, bill brown, legs yellowish or pale brownish green, sometimes darker and, rarely, lead. Adult male has long crest of spatulate metallic green feathers, a patch of deep metallic purple behind the ear-coverts, sides of neck and nape fiery copper brown, changing gradually into bronze green on the back scapulars and adjacent wing coverts, innermost secondaries and rump purple, the secondaries tipped metallic greenish blue, lower back white, sometimes with fine black stripes, rump and shorter tail coverts purple, more or less glossed with blue-green, longest tail coverts metallic green, tail cinnamon, darker at the tip, shoulder of wing and remaining coverts metallic green, primaries and secondaries dark brown, the latter glossed with green on their margins, underparts brownish black or dull black, glossed with green on the breast and flanks, under tail coverts metallic green with dark bases. ![]()
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