The Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) is probably the best place in India to observe the spectacular pheasant family in its natural habitat. It is the only place in the world where a detailed ecological study of the pheasant, involving radio-telemetry, has been undertaken .
Western Tragopan
The western tragopan, also known as the western horned tragopan, is amongst the rarest of all living pheasants. It is endemic to the northwest Himalaya, within a narrow range from Hazara in north Pakistan through Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, to the western part of Garhwal. Due to its beautiful plumage and large size, this bird is locally known as ‘jujurana’ or ‘king of birds’.
The upper part of GHNP’s forest zone holds the world’s largest known population of western tragopan, which prefers a habitat of ringal (dwarf) bamboo beneath dense forest.
The male, which weighs between 1.8kg and 2.2kg, has a long, black, red-tipped crest and red face and neck. Its back is buffish grey and black with prominent white spots.
Crest feathers are absent in the female, which has a pinkish face and legs and pale brownish grey upper parts, spotted with black. Most of the female’s feathers have black patches and central white streaks. Females weigh between 1.3kg and 1.4kg.
Immature males resemble females but are larger in size with longer legs and a variable amount of black on the head and red on the neck. Mature males have a uniquely naked throat, know as a ‘lappet’, which they display during breeding, whilst issuing loud calls to attract females.
The western tragopan feeds mostly on leaves, shoots and seeds, but also consumes insects and other invertebrates. Like most pheasants, it roosts in trees, singly or in pairs, although nesting can also take place on the ground.
Monal
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.
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. However, it also shows tolerance to snow and has been observed digging through snowfall for roots, tubers and invertebrates.
Males weigh between 1.9kg and 2.3kg, whilst females weigh between 1.8kg and 2.15kg.
The adult male has a long, metallic green crest, reddish copper plumage on the back and sides of the neck, and a prominent white back and rump visible during flight. The male’s tail feathers are reddish brown and darker towards the tips.
The female is dull in colour. Its upper parts are covered in dark, brownish-black feathers, its foreneck has a prominent white patch and the lower tail coverts (small feathers) are white, barred with black and reddish brown.
The monal can be seen in pairs during breeding season (April to August), and forms large coveys (flocks) for communal roosting in the winter.
The male monal was formerly under heavy hunting pressure for its crest feathers, which were used to ornament the hats of Himachali men until 1982, when legal hunting was banned in the state.
Koklass
The koklass is an elusive, medium-sized bird, confined to high-altitude forest from Afghanistan across India to central Nepal, and northeastern Tibet to northern and eastern China. Like the western tragopan, it lives belowGHNP’s tree line.
The upper parts of the male koklass are covered with silver-grey plumage, streaked velvety black down the center of each feather. It has a black head, chestnut breast and prominent white patches on the sides of the neck.
The female’s upper parts are covered with pale brown plumage. Both sexes have distinct, elongated tails tipped with pale feathers.
Males weigh between 1.135kg to 1.415kg, and females between 1.025kg and 1.135kg. Immature and juvenile males resemble adult females.
The koklass tends to skulk under bushes, which makes direct sightings difficult, but it can be identified by its loud dawn-chorus calls during the autumn and the breeding season. It lives in pairs or small family groups throughout the year, nests on the ground and spends the nights roosting in trees or under rock overhangs.
White-Crested Kaleej
The white-crested kaleej can be found in small numbers below 2,000m, from the western Himalaya to western Nepal. The male is chicken-like, with black-and-white plumage, a red face and a white crest. The female is brown in colour, except for a patch of red on the face.
Habitat ranges from thickets of bamboo and shrubs adjacent to cultivation and water sources, to pure banjh and kharu oak forest, and mixed cedar and blue pine. Most of the kaleej’s roosting sites are in banjh oak forests. It can also be sighted at dusk and dawn close to the villages in GHNP’s ecozone.
Cheer Pheasant
The cheer pheasant is distributed in the highlands and scrublands of the Himalaya, in India, Nepal, Kashmir and Pakistan, mainly above 1,800m, and up to 3,000m during the summer.
Both the male and female are brown with long, pointed tails, red faces and small crests. It lives in small groups within GHNP, on steep, grassy slopes with scattered trees.
Cheer pheasants are found in very small numbers and are difficult to observe, but can often be heard calling at dusk. They have been sighted near Gati Pat in Jiwanal Valley, and on the park boundary close to the villages in Tirthan Valley.