Himalayan monal facts for kids
The Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus) is a beautiful and colorful bird. It belongs to the pheasant family. People also call it the Impeyan monal. This amazing bird lives in the Himalayas, a large mountain range in Asia.
Long ago, in 1821, a person named Latham wrote about this bird. He said it was rare and brought from the northern hills of India to Calcutta. Lady Impey tried to bring some to England, but they sadly got sick and died on the ship.
Today, the Himalayan monal is very important in some countries. It is the national bird of Nepal. In Nepal, people call it the danphe. You can often hear it mentioned in Nepali songs. It is also the state bird of Uttarakhand, a state in India.
Quick facts for kids Himalayan monal |
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| Himalayan monal, male | |
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Phasianinae
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| Lophophorus impejanus |
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Contents
About This Amazing Bird
The Himalayan monal is a fairly large pheasant. Male and female monals look quite different from each other.
Male Monals
Male Himalayan monals are very bright and colorful. Their feathers can be blue, green, purple, and red. They have a white patch of feathers under their tail. However, the rest of their underside is black. Males also have a special group of feathers, called a crest, on top of their heads.
Female and Young Monals
Female monals and young birds, called chicks, are mostly brown. Their feathers also have white and black stripes in some areas. Female monals have a white throat.
Young male chicks look like female chicks at first. They start to get their bright colors after about a year. Before then, you can tell young males apart from females. Young males are usually larger. They also have black feathers on their throat instead of white ones.
Gallery
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Female (head)
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Male (head)
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Museum specimen
Images for kids
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A female in Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, India
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Himalayan monal eggs collection in Museum Wiesbaden
See also
In Spanish: Monal colirrojo para niños
