The elusive western tragopan of the Himalaya
Braving the cold and hostile terrain of the Himalayan heights, determined birders go in search of the colourful and ground-dwelling western tragopan, and find it.
Published :
Jan 23, 2021 06:00
IST
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A male western tragopan in the Great Himalayan National Park, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh.
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The western tragopan is the State bird of Himachal Pradesh. It looks like a jungle fowl and is secretive and shy. Local residents call it jujurana, which means king of birds.
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A Temminck’s tragopan (named after the Dutch naturalist and ornithologist Coenraad Temminck) in the Mishmi Hills of Arunachal Pradesh.
Photo: Picasa
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The Himalayan monal. It is one of the 16 species of pheasants endemic to the Indian Himalayan region.
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A female Himalayan monal. Female pheasants are less colourful than the males.
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A satyr tragopan, which was photographed in Bhutan. The local people are so involved in the protection of this bird that it roams freely like domestic chicken.
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A male Himalayan monal in all his resplendence.
Photo: Picasa
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A Himalayan monal in flight.
Photo: BIJOY K.I.
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A koklass pheasant, another of the 16 species of pheasants endemic to the Indian Himalayan region.
Photo: Picasa
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The white-throated tit, another important denizen of the Great Himalayan National Park, though not one of the pheasant species.
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The kalij pheasant. Pheasants can be found in various vegetation types and altitudinal gradients.
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Another of the attractions of the Great Himalayan National Park apart from its wildlife are cold streams, of which it has more than 2,700, mostly gushing and noisy.
Photo: Picasa
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Blyth’s tragopan. The name commemorates the English naturalist and ornithologist Edward Blyth, who lived in India and was the curator of zoology at the Asiatic Society of India in Calcutta.
Photo: Picasa
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Jainy Maria Kuriacose.
Photo: Picasa
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