The Impeyan Pheasant {Lopiwphonts impcyanus) 



By I. N. Mitchell 



This beautiful hir.l wWwh is noted for tlu- won.Urful color and metallic irides- 

 cence of the male's plumage, is a native of the higher and colder regions of India. 

 It is greatly admired hy the natives of India, who have given it the name Monal 

 or the hird'of gold. The metallic luster of it> ].lumagc is so very marked that some 

 authorities have been led to give this bird the specific name resi)lendens. The 

 plumage of the males of nearly all the pheasants is (|uite as strikingly brilliant, 

 while that of the female is much more somber. 



Writing of this pheasant as it is found in its forest home in the Himalayas, 

 Mr. Wilson savs : "The Monal is found on almost every hill of any elevation, 

 from the first great ridge above the plains to the limits of forest, and in the interior, 

 it is the most abundant of our game birds." And another enthusiastic observer 

 writes : "There are few sights more striking where birds are concerned, than that 

 of a grand old cock shooting out horizontally from the hillside just below one. 

 glittering and Hashing in the golden sunlight, a gigantic rainbow-tinted gem. an<l 

 then dropping stone-like, with closed wings into the abyss below." 



When the severe weather of winter sets in, the pheasants descend into the 

 forests of lower altitudes where the ground is covered with a thick layer of de- 

 caying leaves. Here tliey find an ample supply of insect food. Though a few of 

 the older birds remain in higher altitudes throughout the winter, the majority 

 descend to lower levels, and in the spring again ascend the mountain sides, as the 

 snow and frost disappear. 



'The call of the Monal is a loud, plaintive whistle, which is often heard in 

 the forest at daybreak or toward evening, and occasionally at all hours of the 

 day." It is an omnivorous feeder, its food consisting of grains and other seeds, 

 insects, fleshy roots and succulent herbage. The length of its wings, which are 

 very short for the size and weight of the bird, shows the Impeyan Pheasant to 

 possess terrestrial habits. Its flights, though quite rapid, are short, and taken, as 

 a rule, only when frightened." 



The Impeyan Pheasant does not seem to bear a change of climate. Many 

 attempts to domesticate them have been made in several countries. Lady Impey 

 was the first person who carried them alive into Europe and there made an unsuc- 

 cessful attempt to naturalize them. It was in recognition of her efforts that this 

 pheasant was given both its specific and its common names. The bird of our illus- 

 tration died near the city of Chicago, while in captivity with a number of 



related forms. 



The Impeyan is not the only pheasant inhabiting that wonderful country 

 which is noted ahke for its beautiful birds, its beautiful flowers and for its fero- 

 cious animals. India also claims the magnificent tragopans or horned pheasants, 

 of which there are four or five species. The males possess two fleshy growths 



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