The male is the eye-piercing image of iridescence; with a green crested head, red neck, green shoulders, blue back, orange tail, and finished with a pair of black underpants.

Meet the Himalayan Monal

“Himalayan Monal, Male” (cropped) by Koshyk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus), is a bird that frequently comes up in bird conservation as a contender for the title of the world’s most attractive bird.

“Himalayan Monal” by Koshyk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Here are some facts about this bird.

This bird is stunning because it is covered in no less than nine colors of the metallic rainbow.

Photo Courtesy of ARIJITSEN / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Himalayan monal is the national symbol of the country of Nepal.

Photo Courtesy of Dibyendu Ash / CC BY-SA 3.0

The female has a prominent white patch on the throat and a white stripe on her tail.

Photo Courtesy of AJIT HOTA / CC BY-SA 4.0

Their brilliant feathers have made them extremely popular around the world.

“Himalayan Monal – Bhutan_S4E9921” (cropped) by fveronesi1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Himalayan monal is also known as the “nine-colored-bird” because of the nine iridescent colors you can see on it.

“File:Himalayan Monal Pheasant 6.jpg” by Ryan E. Poplin is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The male’s white rump flash amid flight is highlighted by a prominent white patch on its back and black underparts

Photo Courtesy of Instagram/@deb_purkait

The juvenile birds are duller in color than the adult males.

Photo courtesy of Instagram/@birdnet.cn

They spend the majority of their day searching for insects, seeds, fruits, and shoots in their diet.

Photo Courtesy of Instagram/@nature_gallary__

Their huge bills have evolved to allow them to dig and retrieve bugs.

Photo Courtesy of Srikanth Bhamidipati / CC BY-SA 4.0

These birds are resistant to the cold due to their snowy environment. They are solitaries unless they have a partner, when they may be observed mostly during the breeding season between April and August

“Lophophorus impejanus” by Jörg Hempel is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The breeding season is April through August, and they generally form pairs at this time. In winter they congregate in large coveys and roost communally.

Photo Courtesy of Klaus Rassinger and Gerhard Cammerer / CC BY-SA 3.0

This bird is considered as of Least Concern on the IUCN red list.

“Himalayan Monal” by Mike Prince is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

You can watch this bird right here in the video below: