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Rare footage of Himalayan Monal’s mating dance caught on camera in Uttarakhand. Watch
This may be the first-ever footage of this colourful bird species dancing in the wild from the Himalayan state.
A senior forest officer of Uttarakhand forest department has released video of the mating dance of a Himalayan Monal from Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. He claims that this may be the first-ever footage of this colourful bird species dancing in the wild from the Himalayan state. Himalayan Monal or Lopophorous impejanus is also the state bird of Uttarakhand.
Parag Madhukar Dhakate, chief conservator of forests (CCF) western circle Kumaon, who shared the video on social media, said the video shows how the Himalayan Monal dances to woo its mate. “This is the first-ever video footage of its dance from the state. It was shot by our forest department official KS Sajwan, who is also a very good wildlife photographer,” he said.
Dhakate said the ultimate purpose of the courtship of this bird is to attract a receptive and genetically compatible mate. “This is a male Monal using body displays to attract a female, moving its head-crest and fanning its tail feathers. The bird does these stunning plumage acrobatic displays like wing flaring, shoulder hunching and intricate dancing sequences, to impress females. This courtship ritual allows species to choose the best partner and ensure a healthy offspring,” Dhakate said.
Dhakate said the bird is sighted often in higher reaches but its mating dance hasn’t been captured so far in the wild here. “Maybe some people might have captured its mating dance in captivity. But according to my knowledge, its mating dance in wild hasn’t been captured so far on video here,” he said.
Dhananjai Mohan, principal chief conservator of forests (planning and finance), who has authored ‘Updated Checklist of Birds of Uttarakhand’ said he himself saw the mating dance of Himalayan Monal for the first time in this video.
“It is a very rare video. I have never come across such a video before. It reminds one of the elaborate mating dance of the famous Birds of Paradise. This video shows the richness of our Himalayan biodiversity and strengthens our resolve to continue making efforts to keep protecting its habitat and ensure it doesn’t face any poaching or survival threats,” he said.
Himalayan Monal is mostly found in the higher altitudes of the Himalayan state in the range of 2500 meter to 5000 meters. It is a Schedule I bird according to wildlife (Protection) act, 1972 and classified as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN. Its range extends from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh to Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan.
Male Monal, with multicoloured plumage with metallic green crest, is more beautiful with stunning iridescent hues, while the female of the species has a somewhat duller colour. They breed once a year from April to August. They prefer open coniferous or mixed forests and move above the tree-line towards grassy slopes in summers, while in winters, they come down to lower altitudes.
