Mangrove Horseshoe Crabs at Mandai Mudflatsįollow Francis Yap Nature Photography on WordPress.Another otter encounter at Sungei Serangoon.The search for Asian Openbills in Singapore.An evening with the Bishan otter family.Perhaps the next time around then.įRYAP Photos and Articles Facebook Archives The juveniles turned out to be all male with black neck feathers and signs of turning into adult males in their plumages. But on checking details of the photos while preparing this article, I discovered I did not have any female pictures after all. It was a bit unsatisfying frankly as the birds were so used to human presence.įor a long time, I assume that I photographed a family of a male and female with juveniles. Backing out was sometimes not an option as the wet slippery slope of the hill made for bad standing positions. Unfortunately, my lens was too long and they approached too near at times. Our main attention of course turned to the male and occasionally the duller females. It was a group consisting of one adult male in resplendent plumage and a few dull individuals that were assumed to be the female and juveniles. The rain subsided gradually and as we peeped outside, a flock of monals were coming down from the higher slopes! One of the monks gathered some cooked rice and spread them on a walking path, and the monals coolly marched down to get their meal. These were made from tea leaves, yak butter, water, and salt. Heavy rain came and we retreated to inside the monastery and the monks gave us cups of their traditional butter tea. We were informed that as the monastery was undergoing renovations, foreign workers were called in and there were suspicions that some were poaching the monals for their crest feathers. On reaching the monastery, we did not see the monals. Therefore the birds make semi-regular visits. Apparently the monks in that monastery like to feed the wild monals with leftover food. So a few days went past and we were in the Bumthang district when the guide suggested that we go climb up to a monastery high up in the hills. My guide assured me that we will get another opportunity to see the male birds again in central Bhutan. I had the good fortune of seeing a random male at Chelela Pass on the second day of birding, although it was very shy and moved away quickly. The bird is found throughout Bhutan, preferring cool upper temperate oak-conifer forests interspersed with open grassy slopes, cliffs and alpine meadows between 24 metres in altitude. The female and the juveniles are much less showy. It has a wiry, metallic green crest, coppery feathers on the back and neck, chestnut-brown tail, and a white rump that is visible in flight. The adult male is a strikingly coloured bird with iridescent rainbow-like plumage. Although the monal is concentrated mostly between 2,700m and 3,700m, it exhibits a clear altitudinal migration, descending as low as 2,000m in winter. Uttaranchal (P.G.The Himalayan Monal ( Lophophorus impejanus) is a member of the pheasant family that as the name suggest inhabit the Himalayan region. The monal is abundant in the GHNP forest’s temperate upper zone, which comprises oak and conifer forest interspersed with open grassy slopes, cliffs and alpine meadows. In the western Himalayas, the local monal population responded negatively due to human disturbances.īy – Assistant Professor – Dr. The species is threatened due to poaching and other anthropogenic factors. Eggs are incubated by female, but the male will stand guard throughout the incubation period and until fledging to protect the eggs and chicks from predators. Eggs 2 to 5 white or dirty white, with brown spots and paler appearance and the incubation period is between 26 to 29 days. The nest is a simple scrape under some feature such as a bush preferably on a steep hillside. Males use body displays to attract females, bobbing the head-crest and fanning their tail feathers. BEST AGRICULTURE COLLEGE IN DEHRADUN, UTTARAKHAND,INDIA The female also has a crest, but whereas the male is green and has spoon-shaped feathers, the female’s is shorter and brown with ordinary feathers. The tail feathers of the male are uniformly rufous, becoming darker towards the tips, whereas the lower tail coverts of females are white, barred with black. The tail feathers are uniformly being darker towards the tips. They have bare patch of turquoise blue skin around the eye. The head is bright green, and the males have a metallic-green crest on top of their heads. They chestnut brown tail, light brown wings and a white rump that is visible in flight. At the nape of the neck is a bright yellow patch which forms the top edge of the bluish black wings and the purplish black back. Himalayan monal is a high-altitude bird, remaining between 20 meters above sea level. Generally, they found single or in pairs and prefer open, coniferous or mixed forests resplendent with rhododendron and bamboo. Himalayan monal is a colorful bird having size between 60 to 72 cm and weight of adult is between 1.70 to 2.40 kg. Himalayan monal or Impeyan monal or Impeyan pheasant is the state bird of Uttarakhand.
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